The Pop Hero
by OmegaBox
Summary: If you were born without a Quirk, it was impossible to be hero. But what if you were a majority if the world's population with a Quirk that can hardly qualify as "Hero-worthy". Born with a party trick for a Quirk, Hajikeru Utakata strives for the dream that many made fun of him for. OCs insert into main storyline.
1. Beginnings

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

"Do you believe this is the right course of action, sir?"

"Of course. It may be a tad unexpected, but most of the faculty agrees that this year's bunch is too good to pass up. There are hardly any repercussions to could come of this, so it will be perfectly fine. Thankfully for you, we will only be accepting four more applicants and they will be split between classes 1-A and 1-B."

"As long as they don't waste my time, they will get instruction."

"It's only two extra students so you won't hear any complaints from me, sir."

"Excellent! I'll inform All-Might of the additional accepted students. You gentlemen are free to your own devices. Good day."

 _One Week Later_

"Ugh! This is too stressful! When the heck is it going to come?! How are so calm with this?!"

"Because I have a strong feeling I passed. I got 45 bot points, so I know I have a strong chance of getting in. You can't keep stressing over this all the time, you know."

"I know… I know… It won't stop my thoughts, though."

"Then you'll have to deal with it."

It has been about a week since the U.A. entrance exams took place and at this time, many of the applicant's psyches are slowly deteriorating from the suspension of being accepted or rejected into the most prestigious hero school in Japan. For some, it's already too late and the only pick-me-up that could fix their broken minds is the honor of being accepted. For others, they are holding out until the bombshell hits their mailbox. This brings us to two applicants waiting anxiously or calmly, in the calm teen's case, for their results.

Sitting on a twin sized bed reading a hard-cover novel was a young man of 15 with short, spiky, coal grey hair that pointed up and forward at a discreet angle. He has equally coal grey eyes and a bored expression currently occupied his handsome face. He currently had on a beige long sleeve and grey pajama bottoms with several large green lightning bolts spread out.

Leaning on the frame of the side of his bed was a much larger teen of 15 with short, but much longer than the other boy, navy blue hair slightly flared out. He had cartoonish eyes that consisted of strawberry-pink rounded rectangles and his head was almost completely spherical, his nose and eye sockets being the only features keeping it from being completely rounded. His large frame was clothed in a sky blue T-shirt with an image of All Might flexing in a front double bicep pose with an explosion of red, white, and blue in the background and black pajama bottoms with azure blue bubbles peppered throughout the clothe.

They were two applicants that recently took the entrance exam for U.A. and were waiting for the results to come to their mailbox. They lived with their mothers in a rather large two bedroom apartment. They were roommates since early grade school and they were also best friends for a while.

"I'm home!" called a familiar voice belonging to one of the boy's mother. "Boys are you here?! I got takeout! Me and Seiryoku are too lazy to cook, so come and get it!"

"Coming, Mom!" replied the larger boy. "C'mon, Denryo. Let's see what she got this time."

"It's probably ramen," said Denryoku as he placed a bookmark in his book and set it down on his computer desk. "I bet Mom doesn't even know about Auntie buying take out again without telling her first."

"Yeah… I wonder how Aunt Seiryoku will react this time."

Both boys left their room to find a lithe woman with a familiar appearance akin to the larger boy, save for the frame, eyes, head shape, and hair style. She was shorter than her son with a smaller, frailer frame. Her eye color was the same, but their appearance is circular compared to his rounded rectangular iris and pupils. To wrap it all up, her hair reaches down to her shoulders and were wavy towards the tips. Other than that, she looked very much like her son.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about ol' Seiryoku giving me the stink eye; she actually texted me to pick up food," cheerfully spoke Hatsumi. "So, no harm, no irritated anger speech."

"I'm guessing she's getting home late, Auntie?" Denryoku said.

"A little! Now dig in boys. I got thick noodle chow mein, mandarin style teriyaki chicken, tempura vegetables, and miso soup. I'll be in the kitchen making some rice for when Seiryoku comes home. Oh yeah, there's also some shrimp chips in there too. I know how much you boys like them."

"Thanks, Mom," spoke Hajikeru as he picked up one of the paper plates in one of the bags. Denryoku followed suit while Hatsumi went to the connected kitchen to make rice for her roommate for when she returned home.

The two young men sat in their respective seats at the wooden, rectangular table, taking in the quiet atmosphere of the apartment. From the kitchen, Hatsumi could be heard humming a popular pop tune that recently reached the top 5 in that week's music charts. This, in-turn, got Hajikeru humming along with her from the dining room with the addition of finger tapping on the table. This was followed by some light head bopping and some quiet lyric mumbling. Denryoku was mostly amused by the similarities between his friend and his friend's mother. Besides looking so much like her, they also shared many traits, such as music choice, food preference, personality, ect.

A small part of him was relieved by how relaxed his roommate/friend was at the moment. Since they returned from the entrance exams, Hajikeru hasn't stopped worrying about his results. His normally happy friend was riddled with anxiety and fear. He was very quiet throughout the week and it had him worried. At this moment, however, he saw what the norm was for him and he knew his friend forgot all about his worries.

Soon enough, all his worries were to be alleviated with a single call out.

 _30 minutes later_

"Boys!" yelled a voice from the entrance of the apartment. Barreling into the dining area was a lean woman in her late 30s, about as old as Hatsumi, wearing a garnet pea coat, grey office trousers, and a caramel brown, leather hand bag. She has straight, silky, brown hair with small curls at the very end that reached down to the small of her back and electric green eyes. In her left hand is an entire wad of mail that no one cared about, like bills, ads, and other junk. In her right hand are two envelopes that have a considerable bulge in the middle. But the major kicker is the U.A. wax seal that held the overlapping flap to the main portion of the envelope.

"Mom, are those-…" Denryoku was cut off before he could finish his question.

"Yes, these are your test results," spoke Seiryoku. "Haji's came with yours, Denryo. Here."

As both boys got their respective letters, they each had their own different reactions. Denryoku knew he had a strong chance of getting in, so he wasn't too worried about his results. Hajikeru, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. His large hands were visibly shaking and his eyes appeared to be unfocused. The smaller teen knew that it was judgment time for his larger friend, but he didn't know how to approach this.

"Haji, do you want to open your letter by yourself?" Seiryoku asked in a concerned tone. "We can give you space if you need it." While not one of her own, the brown haired mother viewed the large teen as one of her own; the same view shared by her friend towards her own son. So when she sees one of her boys in pain or peril, she goes into autopilot to alleviate the pain.

"Sweetie, you don't have to open it now," Hatsumi spoke with a soft tone, hoping to ground her son from outright panicking at the dining room. "You can take as much time as you need. There's no need to rush this. But you need to face this eventually. You tried your hardest and if U.A. didn't accept you, then they are missing out on one of the hardest working heroes that will ever attend their school."

Hajikeru seemed to calm down slightly, as the shaking in his hands lessened in intensity from his mother's words of encouragement. It's true he needed to work harder just to keep up with other kids with more powerful or versatile Quirks. His own Quirk, which he promptedly named Bubble Breath, was once labeled off as a worthless Quirk. Simply from the name itself, it didn't seem like a heroic Quirk. If anything, it will only amuse them for a little bit before he was promptly handed his ass over. From the way his Quirk was exhibited, his peers from his younger days say he may as well be Quirkless. But his drive to be a hero was unbreakable after he was saved by a U.A. student and a police officer that will later be known as the Pro-Hero: Fat Gum. He can still recall that conversation as if it were yesterday.

 _Nine Years Ago_

' _So, you wan' tah become a hero, but yer Quirk is nothing but a neat party trick 'cause a couple o' kids said so?'_

 _'Ye-yes, and they're right… I can't become a hero with this useless Quirk.'_

 _'And? Mah Quirk ain't up tah snuff, but I'm still considerin' going Pro.'_

 _'You're not a hero?'_

 _'Nope, still on da police force. But once I get certified, I'm openin' an agency. Wanna know what mah Quirk is, kid?'_

 _'Yes.'_

 _'Mah Quirk is called Fat Absorption.'_

 _'Ab-abso-abso…'_

 _'It's like I'm storing food in the refrigerator, but replace the fridge with my body.'_

 _'Ooh… But how are you going Pro with that Quirk?'_

 _'Well, I can capture villains using mah fat and I have a higher pain tolerance.'_

 _'A what?'_

 _'Not important right now. But usin' dat pain tolerance, I can use up mah fat and release a powerful attack with it.'_

 _'Wow… That's amazing.'_

 _'Yeah, well I didn't think so at first.'_

 _'But why? Your Quirk sounds so cool!'_

 _'Think about it for a sec kid. Mah Quirk's name is Fat Absorption and it works by stockpilin' the fat I get by eatin' food. Meaning dere's little to no way mah body 'ill actually use it up naturally. I was constantly teased for mah weight and I wondered why I had dis Quirk instead o' teleportation or flight or anything other dan dis Quirk.'_

 _'So what did you do?'_

 _'Heh… I made dis useless Quirk o' mine into somethin' hero worthy. Dat's what I did.'_

 _'Made it… hero worthy?'_

 _'Lemme tell ya somethin' right now kid. As ya are now, you ain't stoppin' any villain. Amuse 'em, maybe, but dat's about it. But you wan' tah be a hero, right?'_

 _'Y-yes!'_

 _'Den you got tah make your Quirk into one suited for a hero tah use! If it ain't got spunk now, work until it leaves an impression on everyone ya meet!'_

 _'B-but… how can I…'_

 _'A Quirk is only as useful as you intend tah make it to be. If it ain't hero worthy now, den build it up, make it hero worthy for when it matters later on. Make it so people will see how dedicated you are towards being a hero, kid.'_

 _'… Okay, I'll try Mr… um…'_

 _'Officer Taishiro Toyomitsu, kid. But when I leave da force, I'll be known as da BMI Hero: Fat Gum!'_

 _'BMI?'_

 _'You'll find out when yer older, kid.'_

 _Present Day_

Thinking back to the kind and uplifting words Fat Gum gave him as he was escorted out of the hospital with his mother gave Hajikeru the kicker he needed. From that day, he made it his mission in life to turn his 'worthless' Quirk into one worthy of a hero. And the letter in his hands contains the results of his hardship, the amount of dedication into his dream, and all the blood, sweat, and tears he shed when he was weakened. This is it.

"No…" Hajikeru spoke with conviction in his voice, his shaking stopped entirely. The most important women in his life and his best friend were looking at him in surprise. The shriveling leaf that was the large teen was standing tall, strong, and ready for what was in the envelope to his future. "This is the most important moment of my life. And I want everyone to be here. What comes next will either make or break me. But if it does break me, I won't let it destroy me."

Hatsumi could only look in pride at her son. This was the same young man that asked her to time him when he was going to try to break his record of 50 bubbles in 60 seconds. The same boy she would drive to his martial arts lessons twice every week to compliment his style of combat. The same boy that hugged her out of joy when he made his first reinforced bubble that withstood a strong swing from a broomstick. All of those accomplishments over the years lead up to this moment, her son's moment.

The large teen tore off the envelope's paper flap to find a thick disk. Confused by this mysterious object, he inspected it further by looking for something that grabbed his attention. He flipped it from one end to the other, only to find a few words printed on what he assumed was the bottom:

'This side down'

Hajikeru sweat dropped as he placed it on that side down. As if on cue, a holographic projection appeared and within said projection was-

"HAHAHA! I AM HERE! AS A HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION!" yelled a very, _very_ muscular man in a yellow suit with blonde hair with two groups of hair standing up from his forehead like eagle wings.

"Wait, All Might?! What the hell are you doing here?! I thought this was from U.A.!" Shock was clear in Hajikeru's voice and face. The same shocked surprise, with an additional blush, could be seen in both mothers, and a wide eye Denryoku was staring at the screen in awe.

"FEAR NOT! FOR THIS IS NOT A MISTAKE! I HAVE AVOIDED TALKING ABOUT THIS TO THE PUBLIC, BUT I SIMPLY WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL IT WAS OFFICIAL. FROM NOW ON, I WILL BE TEACHING AT U.A.!"

"Really?! That's so cool!" Hajikeru was star struck to find out the Number 1 Hero is going to be teaching at U.A. It only seemed appropriate that the best hero in the world would teach at the best hero school in Japan, and arguably the world.

"BUT THAT IS ENOUGH ABOUT ME, YOUNG UTAKATA. Now, as you may be aware, you only received 26 villain points. The cut off for getting into U.A. is around 40 points. So that means you failed…"

A collective gasp was heard with the mothers, who snapped out of how hot and muscular All Might was and drew their attention to the large teen. Denryoku only stared at his closest friend in shock. This same guy that worked to the bone for almost a decade didn't get into U.A.? He felt unprecedented emotions bubble up from his inner being and he could feel his Quirk act up from the circular metal studs on his finger tips. But he took a look at Hajikeru's face and saw that he was smiling. It was a smile of melancholy, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Well," spoke said large teen, his tone almost vacant of cheer. "I guess that was that. I suppose I could always try ano—"

"…IF THAT WAS ALL THERE WAS TO IT!"

Hajikeru's words were cut off by the booming voice of the man in the hologram. He drew his attention back to it, not daring to get his hopes up too much.

"YOU WEREN'T MENTIONED THIS DURING THE BRIEFING BACK IN THE AUDITORIUM, BUT IT WAS NECESSARY TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR TRUE NATURE WOULD BE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. IN ADDITION TO VILLAIN POINTS, YOU WERE ALSO REWARDED RESCUE POINTS!"

"No way…"

"LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING, YOUNG UTAKATA. WHAT KIND OF HERO SCHOOL WOULD WE BE, IF WE DIDN'T REWARD THOSE WHO STROVE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED? WE HAVE A PANEL OF JUDGES GIVING OUT POINTS TO THOSE THAT DISPLAYED THOSE ACTS OF UNSELFISHNESS!

HAJIKERU UTAKATA!

VILLAIN POINTS: 26

RESCUE POINTS: 37

WITH A GRAND TOTAL OF 63 POINTS!"

"I can't believe this…"

"YOUNG MAN. I HAVE A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR ALL WHO EXHIBIT THE ACTS OF A TRUE HERO. 100% IS NEVER YOUR LIMIT. YOU MUST ALWAYS GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!"

"...*sob* Yes sir! *sob*"

"NOW, TAKE YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARDS A GREAT CAREER OF HEROISM, YOUNG UTAKATA. THIS IS YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"

"I will sir!"

 **And there you go. I've had this idea of a Bubble Quirk user for sometime after the second season of MHA, but I never got around to writing a story about it until now. Anyway, nothing much for this chapter besides giving a taste as to who this OC is and how he may affect the timeline of the story as it progresses. To be fair, I know this doesn't seem like much, so let me know what you think. Also, I'm uploading a side story along with the main chapter for whenever I feel its necessary, but not particulary important to the point where its absolutely necessary to read. It's only for context really. Speaking of which, here you go. (And I promise this is the only time you will see an author's note in the middle of the page. Right pinky swear. (My left pinky is a liar!)**

Side Story: Acceptance Aftermath

It was a good few minutes that Hajikeru was openly crying into him mother's shoulder. He couldn't believe All Might, of all people, was congratulating him on his acceptance into U.A. Seiryoku didn't take long to make herself a part of the hug, practically dragging her son with her to her friend and pseudo-nephew to make him a part as well. Denryoku immediately pulled back from the close contact, but settled on placing a hand on his large friend's shoulder.

It would be another 10 minutes before Hajikeru calmed down enough to pull away from his mother, thus ending the hug. When he glanced at the hologram projector, the bubble teen noticed a twice folded piece of paper within the envelope next to said projector that he somehow missed, along with some paper work he may need to fill out later. He also noticed his friend and pseudo-aunt were missing from the dining room, but judging from the booming voice in the living room he knew his friend was watching his acceptance letter. There wasn't a doubt his friend would make it in. And when said friend walked back into the dining room with a rare, open mouth smile, it only confirmed his suspicions. Hajikeru lifted up his fist towards his oldest friend, which Denryoku promptly returned without hesitation.

Going back to what drew his attention; he separated the folded paper from within the envelope and unfolded it to find the various scores of all the accepted applicants in the hero course. Denryoku craned his neck to get a good view of the scores.

They went as such:

1st Place: Katsuki Bakugo (Villain: 77/Rescue: 0) Total: 77

2nd Place: Eijiro Kirishima (Villain: 39/Rescue: 35) Total: 74

3rd Place: Ochako Uraraka (Villain: 28/Rescue: 45) Total: 73

4th Place: Sherry Teikiatsu (Villain: 40/Rescue: 30) Total: 70

5th Place: Ibara Shiozaki (Villain: 36/Rescue: 32) Total: 68

6th Place: Denryoku Emera (Villain: 45/Rescue: 20) Total: 65

7th Place: Itsuka Kendo (Villain: 25/Rescue: 40) Total: 65

8th Place: Hajikeru Utakata (Villain: 26/Rescue: 37) Total: 63

9th Place: Tenya Iida (Villain: 52/Rescue: 9) Total: 61

10th Place: Izuku Midoriya (Villain: 0/Rescue: 60) Total: 60

11th Place: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (Villain: 39/Rescue: 20) Total: 59

12th Place: Fumikage Tokoyami (Villain: 47/Rescue: 10) Total: 57

13th Place: Yosetsu Awase (Villain: 40/Rescue: 16) Total: 56

14th Place: Tsuyu Asui (Villain: 20/Rescue: 36) Total: 56

15th Place: Yuga Aoyama (Villain: 32/Rescue: 24) Total: 56

16th Place: Hanta Sero (Villain: 35/Rescue: 20) Total: 55

17th Place: Sen Kaibara (Villain: 41/Rescue: 12) Total: 53

18th Place: Koosei Tsuburaba (Villain: 33/Rescue: 20) Total: 53

19th Place: Neito Monoma (Villain: 48/Rescue: 5) Total: 53

20th Place: Denki Kaminari (Villain: 35/Rescue: 16) Total: 51

21st Place: Hiryuu Rin (Villain: 43/Rescue: 7) Total: 50

22nd Place: Juurouta Shishida (Villain: 40/Rescue: 10) Total: 50

23rd Place: Mashirao Ojiro (Villain: 31/Rescue: 18) Total: 49

24th Place: Togaru Kamakiri (Villain: 33/Rescue: 16) Total: 49

25th Place: Kyoka Jiro (Villain: 30/Rescue: 19) Total: 49

26th Place: Rikido Satou (Villain: 40/Rescue: 8) Total: 48

27th Place: Reiko Yanagi (Villain: 43/Rescue: 4) Total: 47

28th Place: Kojiro Bondo (Villain: 32/Rescue: 15) Total: 47

29th Place: Mezo Shoji (Villain: 20/Rescue: 26) Total: 46

30th Place: Mina Ashido (Villain: 29/Rescue: 17) Total: 46

31st Place: Pony Tsunotori (Villain: 22/Rescue: 23) Total: 45

32nd Place: Shihai Kuroiro (Villain: 39/Rescue: 6) Total: 45

33rd Place: Niregenki Shoda (Villain: 30/Rescue: 14) Total: 44

34th Place: Yui Kodai (Villain: 15/Rescue: 28) Total: 43

35th Place: Kinoko Komori (Villain: 23/Rescue: 19) Total: 42

36th Place: Minoru Mineta (Villain: 18/Rescue: 24) Total: 42

37th Place: Tooru Hagakure (Villain: 24/Rescue: 17) Total: 41

37th Place: Manga Fukidashi (Villain: 30/Rescue: 10) Total: 40

39th Place: Koji Koda (Villain: 9/Rescue: 31) Total: 40

Out of the corner of his eye Denryoku could see his large friend glare at him from the corner of his own eye, no doubt irritated that he got two points fewer than he did.

"You're not really mad over that small difference, are you?" Denryoku asked with a quirked eyebrow. The smaller teen got a vigorous nod in response. "Ugh, would you grow up? Honestly I thought you would be all over how the scores were panned out from this exam." This snapped the large teen out of his glaring contest in the flick of a switch and immediately jumped onto the outlying points.

"Oh yeah…" Hajikeru got into his 'focused mode'. "I think I want to start with the first place guy: Katsuki Bakugo. No rescue points? The other top five members had at least 30 points in addition to their villain points. It would have been top eight, if it wasn't ruined by a certain electro-guy!"

"Get back to your observations. I'm going to get more food." Denryoku said as he got more of the chow mein that was left. From the living room, he could hear his mother and his friend's mother chatting with the television on.

Hajikeru simply shook his head in slight distaste before he continued. "Anyway, I think you can get an idea as to how much of a monster this Bakugo guy is. That or he's a jerk or something, I dunno. Here's one that doesn't make much sense: Izuku Midoriya. I could only assume he spent the entire exam trying to save anyone that needed help, but that's still an absurd number of rescue points. More importantly, we weren't told about the rescue points, so he should have been actively hunting down villain points, but he didn't get a single one… This is weird."

Despite his nonchalant demeanor, Denryoku was interested with how this Izuku Midoriya passed.

'How can someone pass the entrance exam without knowing about the secondary point system? It just doesn't add up… Wait a minute…'

"Hey," the electro-teen called out to the bubble-teen.

"What's up, pally?" Hajikeru was still pondering how someone could accumulate that many rescue points in a single 10 minute period.

"Remember back near the end of the exam, when there was a large crashing noise from Section B?"

"Yeah, I was in Section E helping some examinees get away from the stupid Giga bot when that happened. Later when we were in the locker room, I heard some guys say something about some dude with green hair jumping up and punching it square in the face. Seriously, whoever took that thing down deserves props for that act alone. Why do you ask? Wait, you don't mean—"

"It's only speculation right now, but it does make some sense. Think about it, the Zero-bot is worth zero points, as Present Mic said. And we weren't informed of the Rescue Points, as All Might said in both of our hologram projections. So, it could be possible that Section B got the worst of it when the Zero bot appeared, like it toppled some buildings or some examinees were too close to its appearance zone."

"Yeah, that makes sense. That's the way I would put it. Call it a hunch, man, but don't think this guy is a threat."

"Why not? He must have a powerful Quirk to take down the Zero-bot in one shot." Denryoku flattened his eyebrows as he looked over to his smiling friend.

"True, his Quirk must be insanely powerful to one punch the Giga bot. But I think he knows what it takes to be a real hero, to be completely selfless and always put others before yourself." Hajikeru's eyes were shining in determination as he spoke.

"Hm… You have a point there."

"Darn right, I do."

"Well, we still got a few hours before bed. Let's get some gaming in. There's a new weapon assignment in Resistance: France and I want to try to finish it before midnight."

"All right! Is it an automatic rifle? Or a light machine gun?"

"Neither, it's another bolt action rifle."

"Another one?! You got to be kidding me!"

"You want to laugh some more?"

"No."

"The developers made the weapon from scratch. It's not a real weapon."

"Oh that is just lazy!"

"Mhm."

"Mother of… Ugh, I really hate game developers sometimes."

"Then find another hobby."

"Never!"

 **Quick Note: They never went over the scores beyond the top 10, did they? Well, here's my attempt to the best of my understanding of every student in Class 1-A and 1-B (I say understanding, but I simply guessed based on their Quirks and next to non-existent personalities in some cases). Though I will admit, it's a bit blotchy in a few places. But hey, at least I tried.**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 11/4/18**

 **I changed some bits of dialogue, added some missing letters from words [why they were missing, I'll never understand] and I slightly changed some of the applicants' scores [total is the same, though]. One of many changes I'm going to make with this fanfic. 3-4,000 words down… just under 100,000 to go… Mother Fletcher, I need another hobby… Eh, maybe not.)**

 **(Edit: 11/16/18**

 **So, new manga chapter dropped this morning… Turns out Setsuna was one of the recommended students in Class 1-B… Thankfully, this one of those edits that doesn't affect the overall story, but it's still a bit annoying to put in these unnecessary edits. At least the classes are balanced for having two recommended students now, and it gives me an idea on how the classes will balance out, though that won't be for a loooong time.)**


	2. The First Day

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _U.A. High_

 _Main Building_

Sitting on top of a hill, overlooking the city below is the shining campus that is U.A. High. Many of the world's greatest heroes have graduated from there. It's an unwritten rule amongst society that states whoever graduates from U.A. has a high chance of becoming a great hero. And it's why the acceptance rate is so low. The top school get's thousands of applicants and they can only accept a small percentage. It is a great honor and privilege to be accepted into such a school as this.

"Holy crap, those doors are huge!"

Again, a great honor and privilege.

"I suppose they are for individuals with size enlargement Quirks," deduced the electro-teen.

Both roommates were standing in front of two different doors that were right next to each other. The door on the left had a sign that said 1-A and the one on the right held a similar sign that said 1-B.

"Well, this is it," spoke up Hajikeru. "Our first step towards becoming heroes, Denryo."

"Almost feels like yesterday we were fighting over who the better hero was that wasn't All Might. Now we're going to be the ones putting our heads at risk."

"That's right! And with any luck, we could be Heroes that others look up to. I'll see you after school, Denryo." The bubble teen smirked after he finished speaking to his best friend.

The electro-teen simply returned the smirk. "Let me know how it goes later."

The large bubble teen was disappointed to hear he and his best friend were going to be in different classes. But the electro-teen came up with a different view of the portrait. Now they get to experience their journey to heroism from two different perspectives. This got the bubble teen to begrudgingly accept that perspective, but he still wasn't particularly happy about it.

Hajikeru was about to walk through the oversized doors for his first… wait, the doors weren't 10 meters high when he first looked at them… With his pupils and iris shrinking until they were pink lines against his sclera, it was safe to say his nervousness skyrocketed more than he expected.

"Hey, Denryo? Do these doors look bigger to you?" the large, bubble teen looked to his right as he asked the question to the electro teen, only to find his friend's spot completely empty. To add insult to further insult, he heard the smaller door to class 1-B close with a loud click. (Smaller door, because it's not the one he goes into)

'Denryo, you traitor!' Hajikeru thought while his left eye was twitching violently. He brought his attention back towards the large door to his own class, only to see it was getting larger.

' _Why?! Why now of all times must my nerves be this wild?! OK, stop… Think about what Mom and Aunt Seiryo told us before we left:_

'Be safe, Haji!'

'Listen to your teachers and be good, ok sweetie?'

'You're losing it again, Haji.'

 _'Get out of here, Mind-Denryo! OK, fine… Remember what Fat Gum said that night. It's why I put all that work to get here.'_

 _…_

'I could go for some burgers after that villain capture.'

 _'Why?!'_

'A Quirk is only as useful as you intend tah make it to be. If it ain't hero worthy now, den build it up, make it hero worthy for when it matters later on. Make it so people will see how dedicated you are towards being a hero, kid.'

…

 _'Yeah, that's what I needed.'_ The previously 20 meter high, and counting, doors were back to their previous height of 6 meters and it signified Hajikeru's nerves have been quelled. He was ready to enter this class room and proceed with his formal hero training.

"Alright, let's do this!" Confidence could be heard in his voi—

"Yeah! Let's go!"

"Class 1-A, here we come!"

"About time…"

"Is this the line to get into class?"

"AGH!" The large bubble teen jumped forward when he heard numerous voices behind him. His eyes were back to their pink line form as he stared at the four… three? … no, four… people that were behind him for whatever reason. He first identified a girl with pink skin and slightly-lighter pink, poofy hair with angularly spastic, yellow horns sticking out of her head. Her eyes were a golden yellow with black sclera surrounding them. The girl behind her was, for a lack of a better term, completely invisible, though it was easy to say she was a girl simply by her figure underneath her still visible school uniform.

 _'That doesn't seem practical,'_ thought the bubble teen.

Behind her was an unusual fellow with a jet black head in the shape of a bird's with a yellow beak. He seemed to be irritated with just standing behind the invisible girl, waiting to get into class. The last one to speak was a guy that was taller than Hajikeru by a handful of centimeters. He has silver hair that sharply drops over the front of his face and he was wearing a face mask over his mouth. The most notable feature about him was the two extra 'appendages' behind each of his muscular arms. A little side note: His sleeves have been torn off for reasons he can only assume were because of his extra arms.

"How long have you been there?!"

"Not too long," spoke the pink girl. "I saw you just staring at the door to Class 1-A, so I thought it'd be neat to make a line to class."

"And I saw Ashido make a line behind you, so I thought there was some cue that would call us in one at a time or something like that," spoke the invisible girl.

"They told me there was a queue to get into class and I needed to wait for you lot to be called in," spoke the… crow?... raven?... bird… spoke the bird guy, in an irritated tone. "What a waste of time." He then moved between the invisible teen and the 'arms?' teen and around Hajikeru and the pink teen to enter the classroom.

"Jeez, what a buzzkill," the pink girl spoke in response. "I just wanted to have a little fun before class."

"Ok, but did you have to use me to do it?" Hajikeru asked, a little intimidated talking to the pretty, pink girl. She lifted her hands up in a simple shrug while glancing to the side.

"I could be assuming, but perhaps it was to alleviate the situation we are all feeling right now," spoke the 'arms?' teen. "It's our first day in hero school, so tensions are naturally high."

"Yeah! I was sooo nervous getting off the train when it arrived here," said the invisible girl. "But Ashido told me about the joke we were making to get into class, so I couldn't resist."

"Right," Hajikeru said, getting full understanding as to why he was the focus point of this little joke. "That was kinda the reason why I was standing in front of the door. Nerves got to me good." The large bubble teen was scratching at his chin in embarrassment. After a brief moment of silence, he straightened up his posture and looked at the door with fire in his eyes. "But now, there is nothing stopping me from entering this classroom!"

"OUT OF THE WAY, EXTRAS!"

"Eek!"

An ashen blond teen figuratively and literally exploded onto the scene and through the large doors. The four occupants still outside of the doors were a bit shell shocked as to what just transpired. Nothing was said for a good 15 seconds, as all were processing the sudden appearance of the angry blond guy.

"Sooooo… That just happened…" said the pink girl.

"Yeah, that was kinda super scary," said the invisible girl.

"I think we should get in there before something else happens," said the bubble boy.

"Agreed," said the multi-armed boy.

 _One trip through a large pair of doors later (Literally five seconds later)_

"Woooo! We made it through the doors!" celebrated the invisible girl.

"And without anything complicated happening on the way!" also celebrated the pink girl.

"You girls are a really peppy pair, aren't 'cha?" questioned the bubble boy in mild amusement as he quirked an eyebrow to the peppy pair. "Also, do you girls really need to make a big deal over passing through some doors? It feels like you're patronizing me."

"You made it a big deal first when you were standing in front of the door, all slack jawed," said the pink teen matter-of-factly. "Oh right! Before we do anything else, my name is Mina Ashido. Nice to meet ya!"

"Huh? Oh right! Hajikeru Utakata. It's nice to meet you, uh… Ashido."

"My name is Tooru Hagakure! I already know Ashido from the hallway line!" spoke the invisible girl.

"Nice to meet you, Hagakure."

"What about you, big guy?" asked Mina to the multiple arms guy.

The makeshift trio turned to the rest of the mostly empty classroom to find the tall teen sitting in the front row in the third seat farthest from the door. The seats were arranged in way that fitted 22 students with two rows of three sandwiching four rows of four. There were six other students and counting in the classroom. There was the loud, ashen blond from earlier a few rows back farthest from the entrance, the bird guy a couple rows forward from the blond, a blond guy with a black lightning bolt like figure in his hair playing on his phone near the back of the class close to the rear entrance, a guy with red hair on the left half of his head and white hair on the right with a large red scar on his red half sitting all the way at the back, a girl with slightly flared, sandy blonde hair in a loose ponytail sitting two rows behind the multi-armed guy, and a boy with a rocky appearance sitting near the back of the room closest to the entrance. Just recently a guy with spiky red hair just walked in and gave Mina a quick wave before settling on a seat around the middle of the room.

"Mezo Shouji," spoke Mezo in a straight manner.

"Nice to meet you, Shouji," Hajikeru spoke, taking a seat behind Mezo. "So we still have 25 minutes until class starts. You guys want to chat until then?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed the two girls.

"Sure," Mezo quietly said.

 _15 minutes later_

"And that's how I saved my little brother from getting a total beating from my Mom."

"What about your dad?"

"Oh, he didn't even notice anything was out of place."

"Pffft, what?"

"That must have been some Saturday."

For the past 20 minutes, the makeshift group of four was talking amongst each other, exchanging funny stories, talking about their weekend, typical things that new friends talk about. The only one that barely contributed to the group chat was Mezo, but it was a bit expected. It sort of reminded Hajikeru of the old days when he met Denryoku, except he was much quieter back then compared to now.

It was around this time a guy with dark blue hair, similar to his own except shinier, entered the classroom and almost immediately berated the ashen blond for putting his feet on the desk. Nearly all the students have taken a seat in the class by this point with only a few empty seats left to be taken.

"Excuse me," spoke the glasses teen with weird robotic hand motions. "I respectfully ask you to take your feet down from that deskThat desk was used by our upper classmen and you must show it the proper respect."

"Yeah? And what gives you the authority to talk to me like that?" the ashen blond spoke with clear smugness. "Just step back before I set you on fire, extra."

"My goodness. Are you threatening a fellow student? On the first day?"

"Tell me, extra, where did you go to school?"

"What? Well if you must know, my name is Tenya Iida. I attended Somei Academy."

"Somei? So what? Are you some kind of elitist with a meter-long stick up your ass?"

At this question, many of the students turned to the blond in question in surprise from the crude question. At this moment, a plain looking boy with freckles and green, bushy hair opened the door slowly, as if hesitant to enter the classroom. For some reason, he looked even more disappointed after he poked his head in.

"This is getting kinda hot," muttered Mina as she got Hajikeru and Tooru to lean in. Mezo didn't lean in, but one of his appendages did form into an ear. It was kinda weird for the makeshift group to witness an appendage form into another body part.

"I didn't think you were into that kind of stuff, Ashido," whispered the bubble teen.

"Oooo, saucy," whispered the invisible teen.

"I beg your pardon?" The glasses boy now recognized as Tenya was fixing his glasses as he looked appalled.

"I'm not talking about my fantasies, Utakata!" whispered a slightly flustered Mina to the bubble teen.

"So you admit it, then?" whispered the bubble teen.

"Do you like Boy Love manga, Ashido?" quietly asked Tooru to the reddening pink girl.

"Listen, Glasses. I don't give a fuck where you come from. You're still beneath me."

"Tch… Are you really striving to be a hero?" Tenya muttered. He then noticed the green haired teen and immediately made his way over to speak with him.

"That reminds me, isn't that the guy that called out Present Mic before the practical portion if the entrance exam?" asked Hajikeru.

"Iida?" Mezo questioned after he quickly formed a mouth with another one of his arms, still whispering between the group four. "Yeah, that seems to be the same guy. His eccentricities haven't calmed since the entrance exam."

"I'll say," Tooru whispered. "He really needs to mellow out, like a lot!"

What transpired next is Iida was talking to the smaller teen with the green hair, which is followed by a girl with a chestnut-brown bob cut who enthusiastically began punching the air, which was then followed by the green haired boy getting flustered, and it concluded with a scruffy looking guy telling everyone to put on some PE uniforms and meet him on the field outside.

 _About 10 minutes later, U.A. PE Field_

"A QUIRK ASSESSMENT TEST?!"

"But sir, what about the entrance ceremony?!"

"Heroes in training don't need petty distractions. If you want to attend those formalities, by all means; leave this school and don't come back. But if you're training to become heroes, you will do what I say. Understand?"

Instead of going to the entrance ceremony, going through the rest of orientation, and doing the typical first day rituals, Class 1-A is instead doing a Quirk Assessment Test to see where their Quirks stand. It was very disappointing to hear and many students were a bit apprehensive to even make their way to the training field. But their homeroom teacher told them to go to the training field for a test, so they had to listen to him. Speaking of which…

"You will all participate in a series of tests to find out where you stand with your Quirks," droned the shaggy homeroom teacher. "It will consist of a 50 meter dash, grip strength, standing long jump, sustained side jumps, softball pitch, toe touch, various upper body strength tests, and an endurance run. You will each be scored by your performance and will therefore give me an idea as to where you stand. Bakugo, since you placed first in the entrance exam you'll get the first pitch. How far can you throw a softball in middle school?"

The ashen blond was the one to respond.

"68 meters."

"Do the same here; but this time, use your Quirk. The tests given in middle school are hinged purely on the physical capabilities of the person. The fact that Quirk usage is not allowed makes the physical tests completely illogical."

'So that's Bakugo, huh?' thought Hajikeru. 'Weird how I didn't assume that was him when he tried to rile up Iida or when he called me, Ashido, Hagakure, and Shouji extras.'

"Alright," muttered the ashen blond. "I'll have to give it a little fire, then." Bakugo winds up his arm, a vicious smirk plastered on his face, and threw the softball skyward with a war cry.

"DIE!"

In a brilliant display of fire and ash, the softball was launched at a high velocity, shooting across the sky like a meteor. Although some students were focused on what the angry blond said at the moment he made his pitch.

'Die?' thought a collective number of students.

The small device in Aizawa's hand beeped loudly after some time of constant, subtle beeping. He turned the display around to show the other students the distance Bakugo threw his softball: 705.8 meters. Cheers were collectively given out at once.

"Wow, that's incredible!" yelled a guy with cylinders in place of his elbows.

"So we're really going to use our Quirks this time?" spoke a large, muscular teen with spiky hair and large lips.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Mina excitedly said.

"Fun, you say?" Aizawa said in a terrifyingly calm voice.

'I don't like where this is going,' thought Hajikeru in fear as he caught a glimpse of Aizawa's frightening mug.

"If you think this is fun, then how about we make this more interesting."

'I really don't like where this is going.' The large bubble teen began shaking and sweating profusely in his spot as his eyes became thin, pink lines for the third time that morning. The students surrounding him noticed his shaking and were growing nervous over the implication their homeroom teacher was giving.

"Since you are so eager to get this test started, how about this? After testing is done, the student with the lowest score will be expelled."

There was an immediate uproar amongst the students, with a few frozen in fear or shaking in their boots. Through the booming voices of the other students, the girl with the chestnut-brown hair spoke up with a shocked voice.

"But sensei, that's not fair! It's only the first day! You can't do that!"

"I can do that and I know it isn't fair." Aizawa responded in a sharp tone. "U.A. has a loose curriculum policy, meaning I, as a teacher and your instructor, am allowed to set the guidelines to any assignment or test that I want. And the point of this test is to see if you have potential not only in your Quirk, but also in your being. The one in last place after these tests are over is considered 'hopeless', meaning they have zero potential to be a hero. Those are my guidelines and if you disagree with them, you're free to go and never come back to this school. Everyone understand?"

'Crap, why did we get the tough teacher?!' Hajikeru was in a panicked frenzy in his head.

"I'll take that silence as a yes. Let's get started."

 _Several Minutes Later_

Multiple students have gone through the 50 meter dash and now it was Hajikeru's turn to go. He was paired up with a girl with a deadpanned expression and a pair of earphone jacks hanging from her ears.

'Ok, my turn… I should probably use a pressurized bubble to propel me forward near the finish line. Maybe not, the blast from pressurized air would probably throw her off her game. Then again it could put me in last place in the overall results… Wait, I shouldn't think about that right now. I just need to focus on getting through these trials. I'll deal with the repercussions later.'

*BANG*

As he ran, Hajikeru blow a small bubble that maintained its grapefruit size for a few meters along. It took a bit of concentration to exhale his lungs and run at a rapid pace, something he's never done with a pressurized bubble. Halfway down the track, he quickly turned around, tilted his mouth downward, and brought his finger up to the bubble while he was still running. With a flick from his middle finger, the bubble exploded, propelling his body forward with a gust of pressurized wind to the finish line and promptly landing on his butt.

*6.11 SECONDS*

'Phew, just as I expected,' the large bubble teen thought.

*8.04 SECONDS*

After acknowledging his time, he made his way over to where Mina, Tooru, and Mezo were standing.

"Interesting use of your Quirk, Utakata," Mezo spoke with his front arms crossed.

"Yeah! That was so cool!" Mina said while appearing giddy. "So your Quirk is blowing bubbles, Utakata?"

"Well, to simplify it to a few words, I can make bubbles using my saliva," spoke the large bubble teen, slightly embarrassed explaining the bare bones basics of his Quirk.

"Eeh," Tooru said in a playfully grossed out voice. "Sounds kinda messy, Utakata."

"Yeah, yeah, I—"

*BANG*

"Ah jeez!" Hajikeru jumped from the simulated gunshot from the robot, prompting Tooru and Mina to giggle. He looked at who was up for the 50 meter dash. He spotted the sandy blonde he noticed earlier in the classroom sprinting to the finish line, kicking up a lot of dust in the process. In her dust was a small boy with weird balls sticking out of his head.

*3.61 SECONDS*

"Holy crap that was fast!" yelled out the blond guy with the black lightning bolt symbol in his hair.

"That was impressive," spoke a green haired girl that oddly had a froglike resemblance.

*9.93 SECONDS*

"That was much less impressive," spoke the same froglike girl.

"Why do you have to be so blunt?!" yelled said small boy as he made his way back to the students.

As the tests went on, the large bubble teen was slowly feeling good about his ranking amongst the class. The grip strength felt a little pointless, but he got a decent score thanks to his training. The standing long jump had him at 7.02 meters with the same grapefruit sized, pressurized bubble near his feet. The sustained side jumps was a bit stupid, though there was that small teen with the purple balls on his head that excelled at that. And now the softball test.

"Utakata, you're up," spoke the scruffy teacher.

'Ok, I'm gonna have to push it this time. Grapefruit is not going to be big enough. I'm gonna have to use Watermelon 2. It'll dry my mouth a bit to keep it sustained midair, but it should get me a great score. Of course like an idiot, I forgot to hydrate my mouth before it was my turn.'

"Any time now, Utakata," said Aizawa in an irritated tone.

"Oh right! Sorry, sir!" Hajikeru said, previously oblivious to his surroundings. He heard a few snickers from the groups of students, most notably from his female companions.

The large bubble teen got into a narrow, stable stance with his shoulder facing forward, much to the confusion of the students. He took a large breath and began to blow into a bubble that formed from a thick film over his lips. The bubble slowly grew until it was about 60 cm in diameter, the bubble never wavering in shape the entire time. The bubble then left his lips and floated up at a slow pace. As soon as it left his lips, he began to mentally count down.

'5…'

'4…'

'3…'

It was then he reared his arm back.

'2…'

He paused before he counted the last number.

'1…'

It was there he threw the softball with everything he had. The softball flew over the bubble as Hajikeru got back into his solid stance, bracing for the inevitable explosion.

'POP…'

A deafening pop exploded from the bubble and with it; a powerful gust of wind came full force, knocking back everyone caught off guard. The only ones that were still standing in the same spot were Mezo, Tenya, the spiky redhead, the guy with a tape-like material coming out of his cylindrical elbows, Bakugo, the girl with the sandy blonde hair, and Aizawa. Everyone else was either held up by other students or, in the case of the little purple ball teen, some distance from the group. The bubble teen was still standing in the chalk circle with his hair completely frazzled and his eyes shut tight, but still standing in the same position.

'BEEP'

Aizawa checked his little device and twisted it around to display to the class, or at least the ones that recovered from the blast of wind.

*527.4 meters*

Many of the students that recovered from the sudden gust of wind made their way back to the group of students, Hajikeru included. Nearly all of them were impressed with the result, at least considering the initial appearance of the Quirk.

"Very impressive, Utakata," spoke Mezo in a subtle, surprised tone.

"Ack…"

"Holy crap, Utakata! That was awesome!" Mina said in a gleeful voice.

*cough* *cough*

"Um… Utakata?" Tooru asked with a concerned tone, seeing the large teen sit down in a coughing fit. "You doing okay there, buddy?"

"Eh?" *cough*

"Are you doing alright there, Utakata?" Tenya asked in slight concern for his fellow student.

Considering he couldn't talk at the moment, Hajikeru tried his best to explain that he has dry mouth at the moment. Though that only resulted in an awkward 10 seconds of charades and a few chuckles out of the students. Irritated, he made his way away from the group and towards a large bunch of various water bottles that the other students brought with them. He grabbed his cyan water jug from the edge of the pack and took a large swig before letting it sit in his mouth. The cool sensation that hit his mouth after drying it out was absolute bliss. It was like a thirsty man getting a taste of water after being so long in a desert, except less dying.

Not wanting to miss out on who was next for the softball toss he jogged back to the group of students, some water still sloshing around his mouth to counteract the dryness. He noticed the little, purple pervert make his way back to the group, indicating he just made his throw. The next person up was Mezo.

"'Sup, Utakata," called Mina as he arrived back to the group. "Feeling good?" The pink-skinned teen got a big thumbs-up from the bubble teen. "Good. So what exactly was up with you not talking back there?"

"Yeah," popped in Tooru. "You were like 'ack' and 'eck' and coughing, kinda like a zombie that's not a zombie yet."

'That's… oddly accurate,' thought the bubble teen.

Gulping of the rest of the remaining water in his mouth, he saw the slightly taller teen throw the softball at a high velocity before giving his attention towards Mina and Tooru.

"Remember when I said my Quirk uses my saliva to create bubbles?" questioned Hajikeru. He received a bushy nod from Mina and a noticeable shift in clothes from Tooru. "Well if I overuse my Quirk, my mouth starts to dry out and I can't talk properly. And if I push it further than that, my throat dries out and it becomes difficult to breath. So yeah. Kinda a pain."

"Still, it's super cool that you can do that!" Mina spoke excitedly.

*BEEP*

At the beep of the device, Aizawa's display read 324.5 meters for Mezo's throw.

"Wow! Over 300 meters on pure strength alone?!" yelled the blond guy with the weird lightning bolt mark in his hair.

The tall arms teen made his way back to where he was previously, between Hajikeru and a shorter teen with short, blond hair and what appears to be a muscular tail, and behind Tooru and Mina.

"Uraraka, you're up," Aizawa called.

"Uh, right!" spoke up the girl with the chestnut-brown hair and rosy cheeks.

"Nice throw, Shouji," Hajikeru simply said.

"Appreciated, Utakata," Mezo simply replied.

 _1 Minute Later_

It's been a full minute since the brunette girl had made her throw and the ball had yet to hit the ground.

 _Another 4 minutes later_

5 minutes have passed since the brunette's ball throw, and still nothing.

 _Another 5 minutes later_

Almost 10 minutes have passed since Uraraka made her throw and the ball had yet to make a reading on the teacher's device.

"How long has that ball been in the air?" loudly questioned the spiky red-head.

"About 10 minutes," Hajikeru casually spoke up. "Who wants to bet it went into space?"

"What? There's no way. It would have hit the ground my now, right?" The spiky red-head's doubt was clear, as well as other students vocally questioning the bubble teen's statement.

"C'mon guys, I was kidding," he replied in a slightly irritated tone.

"I don't know, it has been a while," spoke up a large guy with brown spiky hair and large lips.

*BEEP*

"Infinity?!"

Many of the people that doubted Hajikeru looked back at the tall, bubble teen in surprise, including others that didn't voice their opinion. Oddly enough, he was surprised and wide-eyed that his little quip was spot on.

"Okay, I was kidding when I said that ball went to space!"

"That doesn't make you wrong, Utakata!" enthusiastically spoke up Mina as she turned around with a smile on her face. Hajikeru couldn't help but blush from the overwhelmingly bright smile displayed by the smaller, pink teen.

"Midoriya, you're next," Aizawa lazily called out.

'Midoriya?' internally questioned the bubble teen. 'That's the guy that got 60 rescue points in the entrance exam.'

The same meek, freckled teen with green hair nervously made his way to the throwing circle, albeit a bit hesitant.

'At first glance, he doesn't seem like much. But I know better than anyone when it comes to judging someone only by appearances. And if Denryo's assumption is right, this is the guy that took out the Giga bot during the entrance exams.'

"Midoriya doesn't seem to be doing well, is he?" Tenya stated.

"No, it doesn't seem like he is," Hajikeru responded. "But there has to be something up his sleeve, otherwise he wouldn't have been accepted."

"You think so, Utakata?"

"Of course not, you blue haired morons!" roared Katsuki, overhearing the conversation between the two tall, blue-haired teens. "Deku's a Quirkless loser! No way in hell he's going to survive this!"

"He has a Quirk. Didn't you see what he did in the entrance exam?" Tenya responded in a confused and defensive tone.

An angry, confused scowl made its way onto the ashen blond's face, followed by a 'Hah?' in an exhale of breath.

"He also got 60 rescue points in the entrance exam, placing him in the top 10 of the accepted applicants," Hajikeru added.

"Ok, now I know you're bullshitting me!" Katsuki's angry scowl was now paired with a deep growl, causing multiple students to back away from him.

"Did you not see the result sheet that came with your acceptance letter?"

"Like I needed to look at a bunch of extra's scores to know I got in, you pink-eyed bastard!"

'Jeez, way to hit it home, ass.'

Getting a near guaranteed feeling that the conversation won't go anywhere, Hajikeru went back to observing Izuku. His pink, rectangular eyes remained glued to the smaller teen, searching for any observations that may pop out. As the green teen reared his arm back to throw, the bubble teen noticed a reddish glow within the veins and arteries in his arms paired with a faint yellow glow around the entirety of his arm.

But just as the glow came about, it disappeared without a trace and it resulted in the softball staying in the air for a few seconds and landing within view of the students.

*BEEP*

*47 meters*

'Wait a minute, what happened?' The students were just as confused of what just occurred as the observant bubble teen.

"Wha…?" questioned a baffled Midoriya. "What happened to my…"

"I erased it."

All attention was drawn towards Aizawa, who looked frighteningly different compared to before. His long, dark locks were floating about and his eyes were red instead of their usual black and much wider compared to the lazy stare he usually had. So it could only be assumed that he had his Quirk activated. In addition, a portion his scarf was wrapped around the bushy, green-haired teen

"Wait, those goggles," observed Midoriya when he identified the slitted, yellow goggles around his homeroom teacher's neck. "You're the Pro-Hero Eraserhead!"

"Eraserhead?" questioned some of the students.

"I've never heard of him."

"I think he's one of those underground heroes. You know the ones that stay out of the spotlight."

"That could be it."

The glare Izuku received was bone-chilling, but the words that were said next froze his soul.

"It's incomprehensive as to how you managed to pass the entrance exam and attend this academy. From that mere observation, I can tell it's an all or nothing risk when it comes to using your Quirk. It's completely inefficient. Not only does it cripple you into a heap of mangled flesh and broken bones, but it makes you a liability to the heroes you will work with one day. What? Are expecting the people around you to save every time you use your Quirk?"

"No… I-" Izuku excuse was interrupted when he was pulled toward the intimidating teacher, Quirk still active.

"It's almost uncanny how much you resemble a certain hero who's made a name for himself after saving hundreds of innocents within a single disaster. Your courage is very much like his. But unlike him, you can't save yourself from your own shortcomings. No one will come save you when you're broken from your own power. And honestly, kid? You can't become a hero, not with that mentality."

With that last statement, Aizawa's hair went back to its previous downed position and his eyes are back to their normal black, an indication that he deactivated his Quirk.

"I've given back your Quirk. Take your final swing."

"Jeez, that was intense," Hajikeru quietly spoke.

"Yes," Tenya replied. "Though, it appears that he was given another chance. Perhaps this time he will show what he did during the entrance exam."

"He's wasting his fucking time," Katsuki quietly said, for the first time. "Deku's gonna be expelled for sure. No way can that pathetic nerd can survive this."

What came next greatly surprised the rest of the class.

As before, Hajikeru was watching for any subtle activation of Izuku's Quirk. Unlike last time, however, there was no glow surrounding his arm. Instead, it appeared to be focused in his right index finger and it was so brief he almost missed it. Before his throw went full swing, he yelled his own war cry in the form of a "SMASH!" Afterward, his finger appeared to be red and broken. The results, however, spoke for themselves.

*BEEP*

*708.9 meters*

"Wow!"

"Nice distance!"

"Now you have a hero's record!"

"Very impressive."

'Okay, without a doubt, definitely the guy who took out the Giga bot!' the bubble teen excitedly thought in his head with a visible grin. 'But his finger is completely red, and I'm no doctor but that looks broken.' He took one look at Izuku's face and noticed the face of holding back pain with tears at the corners of his eyes. 'Oh yeah, definitely broken.'

"Deku…"

An animalistic growl was heard coming from the ashen blond, and he looked like he had just seen his family's murderer and the monstrously ballistic emotions were directed towards Izuku. He then charged right at the green, bushy-haired teen with explosions erratically being detonated in his hands as he ran.

"You fucking shit-nerd! Where the hell did you get that power!? Answer me, Deku!"

"K-Kacchan!?"

To the angry blond's surprise, as well as the classes, the same scarf that was wrapped around Izuku not too long ago was now wrapped around Katsuki. He could be seen struggling, trying to escape from the surprisingly strong material.

"What the…? What the hell is this thing made of?! I can't break it!"

Shota was the one to respond in a factual tone.

"My capture weapon, a steel wire alloy woven with carbon nanofibers meant to trap and immobilize. And can you not make me use my Quirk so much? I got dry eye!"

'That's a terrible condition for a useful Quirk!' thought most of the class.

The Katsuki only stood there after being released from Aizawa's capture scarf, whereas Izuku went to the spot in front of Tenya and beside the bob-cut brunette who looked at his finger in concern.

"Alright, everyone on to next event," Aizawa spoke up.

'What the hell is with that guy?' thought the bubble teen as he shot a glance to the ashen blond.

 _About an hour later_

By the time all the tests were done, many of the students were exhausted while others were more nervous about their results. One of the few that fit both aspects was the bubble teen, currently on his back and slowly breathing to get fresh air into his lungs.

'Damnit! Why did it have to be an endurance run for the last event?! 20 minutes of my legs screaming for it to end. Ugh… It didn't help that my Quirk didn't really help in the last few events. How is a toe touch useful for Quirk evaluation?'

It was then the homeroom teacher announced the results for the Quirk Assessment Test. He quickly got up and made his way to where Mezo, Tooru, Tenya and Izuku were, taking his place between the tall, multi-arm teen and his fellow student with dark blue hair.

The placements went as such:

1st. Momo Yaoyorozu

2nd. Shoto Todoroki

3rd. Katsuki Bakugo

4th. Sherry Teikiatsu

5th. Tenya Iida

6th. Eijiro Kirishima

7th. Tsuyu Asui

8th. Rikido Satou

9th. Fumikage Tokoyami

10th. Mezo Shouji

11th. Mina Ashido

12th. Mashirao Ojiro

13th. Hanta Sero

14th. Hajikeru Utakata

15th. Yuga Aoyama

16th. Ochako Uraraka

17th. Denki Kaminari

18th. Koji Koda

19th. Kyoka Jiro

20th. Tooru Hagakure

21st. Minoru Mineta

22nd. Izuku Midoriya

"Alright," started Aizawa. "Your scores are accumulated over the various tests we did and while your placement isn't particularly important, it gives me and the other teachers an idea as to how you can improve."

Though remembering their homeroom's teacher threat from the beginning didn't exactly mellow out the mood for the one in last place. From his angle, Hajikeru could see Izuku's spirit break from placing in last place overall.

"Also, I lied. No one's going home."

…

…

"Eh?"

"It was just a logical ruse to get your peak performance out of you." On the Pro-Hero's face is the largest shit-eating grin any of the students have ever seen in their entire lives.

The revelation that no one was in danger of being expelled from the school resulted in an uproar of 'WHAT?!' as well as a group exhale of held breath, followed by a few souls leaving their host's body.

"Well of course it was just a ruse," said a girl with a sizeable bust and black hair held back in a fanned out ponytail. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have said something."

'Yeah, you should have,' thought several of the students.

"Anyway, the syllabus for the course is back in the classroom. Pick one up and I will see you tomorrow. Oh, and someone give this to Midoriya when he regains consciousness." After giving a note to the student with the muscular tail, the scruffy homeroom teacher left the students to their devices. Many of the students have left for the classroom to pick up the syllabus and be on their merry way, though some stuck around because… well…

"Midoriya! Are you alright?!" Tenya yelled in surprised as he turned to the bushy haired teen to ask him a question about his injured finger. He was completely white and he had something spectral in nature flowing out of his mouth. There was a hollow sound that originated from his throat paired with his 'escaping spirit'.

"Aah! What happened to him?!" the bob-cut brunette shrieked. "He looks dead! Is he okay?!"

"Guys, relax," Hajikeru spoke as he tried to quell the erratic duo. "He's just in a lot of shock right now. I mean, I don't blame him. Taking last place and end up getting expelled, only to be faked out would do this to anyone, right?" Looking around, he noticed there were a few students that decided to stick around for one reason or another. This included Tenya, Mina, Tooru, the bob-cut brunette, and the blond guy with the muscular tail, who of which was observing at the slip he had in his hand in an attempt to looked occupied.

"So what should we do, Utakata?" questioned the invisible girl.

"Just give him some time to let his spirit come back and he will be perfectly fine." The large bubble teen's eyes were closed in an upside down 'U' and one of his hands was in a shrugging position as he finished talking.

"It is very good to know, but what do we do about him until he recovers?" Tenya asked, his hands moving in a robotic fashion. "Sensei informed us that the syllabus is back in the classroom and that he would see us in class tomorrow. Therefore, I conclude there will be no more activities for the day. So we, as his fellow classmates, cannot leave Midoriya out here until he 'recovers his soul', as you have phrased it Utakata!"

"Hm… You make a good point, Iida… How about we—"

"Excuse me," spoke up the blond with the muscular tail. "Sensei gave me this nurse's slip to give to Midoriya when he woke up. So maybe we could just take him to the nurse's office?" Awkwardness was clear in the blond's voice as he spoke, though his voice never faltered into discomfort. As he spoke he held up a small paper with printed letters indicating a pass.

"Of course!" agreed the tall, glasses teen. "Midoriya injured his finger in the softball test! So it would only be logical for him to go to Recovery Girl to receive treatment!"

"Oh yeah," realized Mina when she spotted the red, swollen index finger on Midoriya's right hand. "I forgot he broke his finger in the softball test."

"Okay, cool," the large bubble teen replied. He then got behind Izuku and held out the bushy haired teen's arms by the biceps. "I got his arms. Iida, you take his legs."

"Hold on! What exactly are you doing, Utakata?"

"I'm carrying Midoriya to the nurse's office and you're helping. C'mon, take his legs."

"As a fellow classmate, I cannot follow through such acts without Midoriya's permission."

"It's that, or we gamble on the time he takes to wake up. I'm betting on another hour."

"I got two hours!" Tooru pitched in with pep.

"Hour and a half," Mina replied cheekily.

"Can we move this along?" questioned the blond with the muscular tail. "This is becoming counter-productive."

Tenya released a heavy sigh, knowing that his fellow classmates have a point on the matter.

"Very well, but be careful with his finger. I do not wish to exert further harm on an injured person!"

 **And that's the second chapter. No side story here, but chronologically speaking, it will appear first in the next chapter. You know, when I finish the kinks and such. Anyway, what do you think? Critiques are always welcome, as they are helpful in improving either my writing or how to flush out a character (I've never written fanfiction before, this is my first).**

 **Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit 11/5/18:**

 **I redid some bits of dialogue and some passages that just seem like filler to pad out the chapter. Seriously, there was like 500+ words that I cut out of this chapter. Of course, I added like 100 just with this edit note, so I'll just stop.)**


	3. The Team Exercise

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

"Alright," spoke up the tired voice of a certain homeroom teacher. "We don't have any announcements today and there's just under an hour before your first class period, so take the time to come up and introduce yourselves to your fellow classmates."

"Aizawa-sensei!" shot up the enthusiastic voice belonging to Tenya. "May I suggest doing introductions in the order of our class numbers?"

"I don't particularly care, just as long as you get it done."

"Very well! Since I have made this suggestion, I will save everyone the trouble of being the first to introduce themselves." The glasses teen made his way to the front of the classroom in a very unusual stride, causing several of his fellow classmates to sweat-drop. "Good morning, fellow students! My name is Tenya Iida. My Quirk is: Engine. Something about myself: My goal is to be a fantastic hero like Ingenium!"

He received several scrunched and raised eyebrows from many of the students.

"Hey," spoke up the large bubble teen in the second row. "Now that you mention him, you guys look kinda similar. Are you guys… uh… you know…"

"He is my older brother!" Tenya proudly proclaimed.

"WHAT?!" yelled the rest of the class in shock, save for a few that were less vocal.

"Oh good," relaxed the bubble teen. "I had a feeling, but didn't want to assume. Sorry about that."

"It is perfectly alright, Utakata," replied Tenya. "Though to be honest, I wanted to keep it under wraps until later. However, there is no harm in letting others know now. Very well. From here on out, we will begin our introductions starting from 1 and ending with 22."

'Alphabetical order, then?' thought the class.

"I will be up first, monsieur!" spoke up a lanky teen with silky blond hair in a French accent.

"Very well, I shall retire to my seat." Iida said as he showed the same unusual stride he showed when he made his way to the front of the room not too long ago.

"My name is Yuga Aoyama! My Quirk is Naval Laser! You heard right, messieurs et mademoiselles! A laser beam from my tummy! One thing I love: moi!"

'What a tool…' came the collective thoughts of most of the students.

"I'm up!" spoke up Mina through the silence that followed Yuga's weird introduction. She practically skipped up to the front of the classroom. "My name is Mina Ashido! My Quirk is Acid. I can secrete Acid from my body and use it to do stuff like concrete surfing! One thing about me: I like Sci-Fi movies!"

The frog girl, seeing that she was next, made her way to the front of the classroom with a hunch. "I'm Tsuyu Asui, but my friends call me Tsu. My Quirk is called Frog. I can pretty much do everything a frog does, except eat insects. I personally find them tasteless. One thing about me is I say whatever is on my mind."

After Tsuyu got back to her seat, everyone was confused as to why no one got up to introduce themselves.

"Bakugo, stop wasting everyone's time and introduce yourself," spoke up the Erasure Hero.

Everyone turned to look at the shaggy homeroom teacher, only to find him inside his sleeping bag with his eyes closed and on his side. Seeing as no one will leave him in peace, Katsuki decided to play along but refused to leave his seat.

"Tch… Katsuki Bakugo. My Quirk is Explosion. Make me do this shit again and everyone in this room is dead."

"Good enough!" blurted out Tooru. "My turn! I'm Tooru Hagakure! My Quirk is Invisibility. See?" The invisible girl gave a quick little twirl around to show she was completely invisible, save for her clothes. "I really like cute things!"

"Alright," spoke the girl with the earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes. "My name is Kyoka Jiro. My Quirk is called Earphone Jack. I can send the vibrations and sounds from my heartbeat into anything I connect them to. My hearing is also pretty good. I like playing music."

"What kind of instrument?" called out the blond with the black lightning bolt pattern in his hair.

"Not your business."

"Then why even say anything on it?!"

"Shut it, idiot."

"Wha…?"

"Whoever's next, please get up here."

"Wait, I'm next!"

"Then go… Idiot."

"Fine, I will." *Ahem* "Waddup, guys! I'm Denki Kaminari. My Quirk is called Electrification. It's a super badass lightning Quirk, so I guess you can say I'm pretty strong. Something about me? Um… I like memes!"

"Guess I'm up," spoke up the spiky redhead. "My name's Eijiro Kirishima. My Quirk is called Hardening." Eijiro then proceeded to lift one of his arms up and activate his Quirk, causing it to appear more rugged and rock-like compared to before. As quick as he activated it, he let it revert back to his normal, fleshy form. "And a thing about me is: I LIKE MANLY THINGS!"

'Definitely a loud one,' thought most of the class.

'Manliness personified,' thought a small portion of the class.

While several of the students expected some students to be nervous going up, they never expected shyness of this degree. The large teen with a rock-like appearance shot out of his seat and quickly wrote on the board before shooting back into his seat to hide his face from anyone who would want to ask him any questions. Nearly everyone looked to the chalk board to find a neatly written introduction from the shy boy. It read:

'My name is Koji Koda. My Quirk is called Animal Voice. I can talk to animals and have them do what I ask them to do. I have a pet rabbit named Biscuit at home.'

"Aw! That's adorable Koda!" Mina spoke up after reading the introduction. Said teen was too flustered to even look up from his hiding spot.

"Is no one going to ask how he managed to write that intro in under three seconds?!" Hajikeru asked in surprise. He noticed Koji flinch from the question. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that, Koda! I was just really impressed by that. That's all! Honest!" He received a shaky thumbs-up in response and immediately let out the breath he was holding. It was only the second day. He couldn't make someone cry only two days into U.A.

"Um… Uh… M-my name is I-Izuku Mi-Midoriya. Um… My Q-Quirk is… uh…" There was a very loud gulp as Izuku forcibly swallowed his nerves in an attempt to calm himself. "My Quirk's name is Super Power! And I like studying heroes!"

Most of the students were taken aback from the surge of courage from the very introverted teen. Though there was that portion of the class that was a bit hinged on that last bit.

'Super Power? Really? That's incredibly generic. What, did he make it up on the spot?'

'Did I really disguise One-For-All as something as generic as Super Power?!' thought the exasperated teen as he made his way back to his seat, catching a glimpse of a majorly pissed off Katsuki when he passed him.

"I'm Minoru Mineta!" said the little teen with the purple balls in place of his hair. "My Quirk is called Pop-Off. My hair's got these sticky balls that can stick to anything! Something about me…" Minoru's face immediately took a haunting turn as he spoke in a perverted tone. "I love girls!"

This immediately got the entire female population to stare in horror at the openly proclaimed pervert. Some of the guys were surprised as to how open he was about his perversions. The rest were just disgusted over that proclamation.

"I guess I'm next," spoke up the tailed, blond boy. My name is Mashirao Ojiro. My Quirk is called Tail. I guess you can tell what it does." He shifted his tail into view to emphasize his point. "Something about me is: I like practicing my martial arts."

'He seems to be the most plain of the guys so far,' thought most of the classroom.

"Alright!" called out a large teen with spiky brown hair and large lips. "I'm Rikido Satou. My Quirk is called Sugar Rush! I can increase my strength tenfold by ingesting sugar. I enjoy baking!"

"I'm Hanta Sero," said the boy with the cylinders where is elbows are. "My Quirk is called Tape. I can dispense tape from my elbows and it's strong enough to hold my bodyweight, so I can swing around with it. I like foods that are healthy."

"My name is Mezo Shouji," Mezo said in a neutral voice. "My Quirk is called Dupli-Arms. I can create replicates of my body parts at the tips of my tentacles depending on what I need. I like tokoyaki."

"I guess it's my turn now," said the well built, sandy blonde after the tall, multi-armed teen got back to his seat. "Okay, my name is Sherry Teikiatsu. My Quirk is called Cyclone. I can make swirling winds from my arms and legs to push things around. And something about me is: I was born in America and moved to Japan when I was six years old."

'Huh… a foreigner… She's cute too,' thought most of the class.

In a situation similar to Katsuki, the half white, half red head stayed in his seat, prompting everyone to turn to the back of the class once he started talking.

"My name is Shoto Todoroki. I don't feel obligated to share information about myself past that."

'Jeez, what a hardass.'

"My name is Fumikage Tokoyami," said the bird guy. "My Quirk is the sentient being: Dark Shadow. I enjoy dark things. Revelry in the Dark."

'What does that even mean?'

"Hi!" excitedly yelled the brunette, bob cut girl. "My name's Ochako Uraraka. My Quirk is called Zero Gravity. I can make anything under three tons weightless. One thing about me is: the pads on my fingertips look like a cat's paw. Aren't they adorable?"

'So, cheerful!'

"My turn," Hajikeru said with a bit of excitement. "My name is Hajikeru Utakata. My Quirk is called Bubble Breath. I can make various bubbles of different strengths and air pressure. Something about myself… I like video games."

"I suppose I will be the last to introduce myself," properly spoke the well endowed teen with silky black hair in a fanned out ponytail. "My name is Momo Yarorozu. My Quirk is called Creation. I can create anything inorganic if I know the molecular structure of the object in question. I enjoy reading and tea. Thank you for your time." Momo finished her introduction with a bow.

"Sensei!" yelled out Tenya, his hands moving in an upper-chop movement. "We have finished class introductions. What is next on the agenda?"

"Stay in your seats until first period so I can catch up on sleep," Aizawa said in a voice more dead than the dead. This caused many of the students to wonder what kind of work their homeroom teacher does outside of U.A.

 _Later in the Day_

"I AM HERE… COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

"Woah! It's All Might! He's really teaching at U.A.!"

"So cool…"

"Is that the Silver Age costume?"

"There's more than one costume?!"

It was the second day of the semester and while tensions were still high, it seemed to have mellowed out slightly. Surprisingly enough, U.A. didn't seem to deviate too far from normal school subjects. The courses curriculum consisted of math, history, English and literature, and, of course, heroics. It was the class at the very end of the day that got many students fired up. It would consist of an overview of the first Quirk manifestations and how and why hero laws were implemented later on, as well as anything hero based that is relevant towards becoming a pro. But the main attraction in the heroics portion of the day was the physical aspects that involve heroism in the field. And today's lesson is…

"COMBAT TRAINING!" yelled the muscular blond. "FOLLOW ME TO TRAINING GROUND BETA AND I WILL EXPLAIN THE EXERCISE IN GREATER DETAIL THERE! OH, BUT BEFORE THAT…" As soon as the number one hero cut himself off he pushed a button on his remote, causing sections of the wall to steadily move forward. Within said sections of said wall were cases that had numbers that ranged from 1 to 22.

"Wait, are those what I think they are?" Eijiro asked excitedly.

"THEY ARE INDEED, YOUNG KIRISHIMA! THESE ARE YOUR HERO COSTUMES. THEY HAVE BEEN TAILORED TO YOUR EXACT SPECIFICATIONS WHEN YOU WERE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEM AFTER YOU RECEIVED YOUR ACCEPTANCE LETTERS. GET OUTFITTED AND I WILL SEE YOU IN TRAINING GROUND BETA!" And like that, the number one hero dashed out of the classroom 'like he has somewhere to be!' Though he did make an immediate return to tell the students where the locker rooms are, causing many of the students to sweatdrop at the action.

 _Training Ground BETA_

With the students fired up for combat training, they quickly got dressed in their respective hero outfits and made their way to Training Ground BETA, the Concrete Jungle. Though the process of getting there did involve following a bunch of conveniently placed signs pointing them in the right direction, courtesy of the Number One Hero.

With all the students gathered at the training ground, the Number One began to explain what the day's exercise was going to be.

"You all look so cool in your hero outfits!" proudly proclaimed All Might. Though one look at Izuku's hero costume was almost what made him break his blusterous tone. 'So obvious!' "NOW THEN. TODAY'S COMBAT EXERCISE WILL BE A TEAM BATTLE! IT WILL CONSIST OF ONE HERO TEAM AND ONE VILLAIN TEAM AND YOU WILL BE PARTNERED UP WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO TEAMS OF THREE."

"Excuse me, All Might sensei," questioned Tenya from within his sleek armor. "But isn't this exercise a bit advanced for us. It is only the second day of the semester."

"That may be but I think I get where All Might-sensei is coming from, Iida," Izuku spoke up from his… smiling bunny mask? "Heroes are often teamed up for specific jobs and cases where they are needed; sometimes even on the day or hour they show up for whatever it is they were called up for."

"RIGHT YOU ARE, YOUNG MIDORIYA!" All Might agreed. "AND TODAY IS NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY SITUATION HEROES FACE ON A REGULAR OCCURANCE! Today, the hero team is tasked with stopping the villain team from destroying the city with this WMD." Out of nowhere, All Might pulled out a full scale replica of a megaton bomb to display to the students. "The villain team will be tasked in defending the weapon until the time runs out or capturing/incapacitating the hero team with the provided capture tape, while the hero team will be tasked in retrieving the weapon by touching it or capturing/incapacitating the villain team with the same provided capture tape. Your team will be selected via lottery, so you won't know who you will be working with. NOW LET US PROCEED WITH THE PICKING!"

And so the picking went as such:

Team A: Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, Hajikeru Utakata

Team B: Shoto Todoroki, Mezo Shouji

Team C: Momo Yayorozu, Koji Koda

Team D: Katsuki Bakugo, Tenya Iida, Tooru Hagakure

Team E: Mina Ashido, Yuga Aoyama

Team F: Minoru Mineta, Rikido Satou

Team G: Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro

Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami, Tsuyu Asui

Team I: Mashirao Ojiro, Sherry Teikiatsu

Team J: Hanta Sero, Eijiro Kirishima

"Wow, what are the odds that we would be working together, huh Deku?" Ochako asked in her usual cutesy tone. Izuku responded with an embarrassed squeal.

'Deku? Isn't that an insult?' thought the bubble teen before voicing his own thoughts on the team placement.

"Neat, I'm on a team of three," Hajikeru spoke up from behind the two smaller teens.

His hero outfit consisted of a pair of heavy duty, black pants with a thick, cyan line on the side of the pant legs. They were paired with a pair of shin-length boots that were primarily cyan with a few portions of them being highlighted a reflective grey. They were rounded out from the top to make it look like a glossy dome and smoothed at the bottom where the outer sole met the ground. On his arms were cyan gauntlets that hid most of his forearm and they were complimented with a pair of equally cyan gloves with rubber padding. Over his black undershirt was a large, glossy chest piece that left a large space between the neck line and his actual neck, so his large head can fit through, and was a darker shade of cyan. Over his eyes were polarized, cyan tinted, single piece goggles that covered a large portion of his face, fastened by a few flexible straps that wrap around his head.

"NOW THEN!" jovially called out the Number One Hero. "Because I want to give everyone a fighting chance, the teams of three will be facing each other. Everyone else will be facing each other by random draw. The Villain Team will be Team D and the Hero Team will be team A."

"Well, at least he's fair," the bubble teen mumbled. Both Izuku and Ochako blankly nodded at the blatant statement, though in the bushy haired teen's case he seemed to be shaking in his big, red boots.

"Villain team, you will enter the building first. In 5 minutes, the Hero team will enter and that will be when the exercise starts."

"Good luck, Utakata!" waved a single floating glove as the invisible girl walked by. "We're not going easy on you. So you better come at us swinging!" Said bubble teen waved back at the… gloves? ... It was hard to tell where his invisible friend was when she was…

'Wait… Her Quirk only applies to her physical body and not with any of the clothes she wears… Then that means…

'Oh dear god, is she naked?!'

The angry blond threw a glare over to the bushy teen, thus causing said teen to tremble a bit, before entering behind Tenya in his full body armor and a pair of floating gloves and sentient boots.

"So, any of you guys got any ideas?" Ochako asked while a bundle of nerves began to twist in her mind. Her nerves didn't lessen when she turned around and found Izuku shaking and sweating in his costume with his face mask down and she found Hajikeru a blushing, bubbling mess, complete with foaming mouth, eyes reduced to pink lines, and scarlet face.

 _5th Floor, Designated WMD Room_

As soon as Tooru, Tenya, and Katsuki arrived to the 5th floor, they each went to their own devices. The sentient pair of gloves and boots was knocking on the replica WMD, the speedy speedster was standing in the middle of the room, coming up with a plan no doubt, and the angry blond was just staring at the entrance to the room, hiding his immeasurable temper under a scowl.

"Wow," spoke up the invisible girl. "Metal. But it's hollow on the inside." She then followed up the knock with a slight push with her disembodied glove. "And its super light. Neat."

"As expected from a school such as U.A.," Tenya responded. "So how should we approach this exercise? We have more man-power to work with, so we have more options to formulate a strategy."

"But I'm a girl, Iida."

"I meant people, but that's beside the point, Hagakure. Simply put, the Hero team seems to be a concerning bunch. Uraraka has a very useful Quirk with her Zero Gravity and Utakata has a versatile Quirk that can work both offensively and defensively. Midoriya is a bit of an unknown past the incredible strength, but I'm concerned about how they could go about with their planning."

"Hey," spoke a simmering voice full of malice. "Deku has a Quirk, right?"

"What kind of question is that, Bakugo?" questioned Tooru. "Of course Midoriya has a Quirk! No normal person could throw the softball that far without one."

"If I may ask, Bakugo," Tenya butted in. "Why does Midoriya concern you?"

"So, that's it," muttered the angry blond with malice, ignoring the speedster's question. "You've been lying to me this whole time, haven't you Deku?"

This question got both of the blond's teammates concerned over how the exercise will go down. Little did either of them know; this exercise would go south quick.

 _1st Floor, Corridors_

After the time limit for the Hero Team's preparation expired, the group of three made their way through the first floor of the building. They were careful with their corners and each of them had their ears ready to pick up any subtle sound that may come from a certain invisible girl. Making their way up the stairs to the next floor, they knew an attack was more likely to occur with each flight they complete. From what Izuku told them about Katsuki, they greatly assumed the ashen blond will actively seek them out for the sole reason of giving the freckled boy a major beat down.

True to his assumption, from around the corner, he struck.

"I found you, DEKU!" screamed the unhinged voice of the ashen blond. With that yell, he released a powerful explosion that the three of them barely had time to dodge. Izuku tackled Ochako out of the impact zone by instinct and Hajikeru quickly made an Orange-type pressure bubble to launch him a few feet from the blast zone. After gaining his hearing back from the loud blast, the bubble teen took a look at the impact zone to find a deep crater in the wall.

'That must have been a powerful blast to make that much damage to the wall. Wait, but that would mean…'

"What the hell are you doing Bakugo?!" yelled out Hajikeru. "Were you trying to cripple us with that?!"

"Deku…" growled Katsuki, eyes full of insanity. "You piece of shit. Don't you dare dodge me…"

'Holy crap, he sounds pissed,' thought the shaken bubble teen as he stared at the angry blond's back. Looking over at his teammates, he found Ochako completely fine, but frightened, while half of Izuku's facemask was completely gone. Other than that and the slight burns on his exposed face, he looked fine.

"I knew it," spoke Izuku. "It's just like I thought. He's after me."

"Hey Deku," snarled the ashen blond. "Since you love studying heroes so much, you should know what's next for you! TRY DODGING THIS YOU FUCKING NERD!" Katsuki rears back his right arm for a wild cross towards the green haired teen.

To the blond's surprise, the feeble teenager charged forward and grabbed the incoming arm by the grenade gauntlet and, with incredible finesse, flipped the angry teen onto his back with incredible force. The sudden move surprised everyone present or observing from the observation room, as many of the students didn't expect that from the meek teen.

'What?' thought Katsuki as he laid slightly dazed from his back slamming against the concrete floor. 'Did he… read my movements? This little shit stain?'

'That was amazing!' thought Ochako.

'Did he predict Bakugo's attack and pull off a back throw to counter-attack him?' thought Hajikeru. 'Color me impressed, Midoriya.'

"You always open up a fight with a wild right, Kacchan," Izuku stated, his form shaking from that first successful strike. "I analyzed and took notes on your Quirk and fighting style over the years. I do that with any heroes that I think are amazing. That includes you!

"You remember those notes, right? The ones you burned and threw away? I couldn't do anything about that then. But I won't let that go on. I won't be the same 'Deku' that just allowed you to push me around anymore!" The next proclamation was something that would strike a chord with everyone present. With eyes wide and full of fire, Izuku screamed from the depths of his heart: "I'm not the 'Deku' who's worthless and weak anymore. I'M THE 'DEKU' THAT NEVER GIVES UP!"

Ochako was completely blindsided by the proclamation from her meek friend. She hadn't expected him to take the words she told to him yesterday to heart.

 _Yesterday, After the Quirk Evaluation Test_

 _"Hey!" called out Ochako to the two boys ahead of her. "Wait up!"_

 _"Oh, you're the infinity girl!" Tenya stated in recognition._

 _'Infinity girl?' internally questioned Izuku, still tired from the treatment he received from Recovery Girl._

 _"Infinity?" cutely questioned the brunette. "Oh, you meant from the softball test! Well actually, my name is Ochako Uraraka. And you're Tenya Iida and you're… Deku Midoriya, right?"_

 _"D-Deku?!" Izuku asked in surprise, not expecting someone else to call him by his insulting name._

 _"Yeah, that's what that blond guy called you before, right? Also, are you okay? You kinda, sort of died on us back there."_

 _"D-died?!"_

 _"That was not exactly the case, Midoriya," Tenya cut in, adjusting his glasses briefly before continuing. "As I have been informed by Utakata before he and I took you to Recovery Girl's office, you were merely in a state of shock. I must assume it was because you took last place in the Quirk Evaluation Test."_

 _"Oh… that… Well at least that explains how I ended up there with no memory of walking."_

 _"Yeah," Ochako rejoined in the conversation. "You were really pale and you had something weird coming out of your mouth. But, are you really okay?"_

 _"Y-yeah, I'm alright. Recovery Girl healed me up. Also, Deku isn't my name." Izuku said whilst looking gradually embarrassed as the conversation went on._

 _"But that was what that blond guy said, right?"_

 _"Well, my first name is actually Izuku. 'Deku' is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me."_

 _"That doesn't sound right," Tenya commented. "That's rather unbecoming of a hero, if you ask me."_

 _"Oh, I didn't realize that. I'm sorry," apologized Ochako to Izuku. "But you know, 'Deku' kinda sounds like dekiru, 'never give up'. You can change that Deku to 'never give up!', something a hero would proudly call themselves. Plus, Deku sounds really cute."_

 _"You can call me Deku!" At this point, Izuku's face was nuclear red._

 _"Wait, just like that?!" Tenya blurted out. "I realize Uraraka has her points, but didn't you say it was an insult a minute ago?"_

 _"Paradigm shift! I don't know which way is up or down anymore!" Embarrassed, Izuku hid his radiating face behind his hands._

 _"A what?"_

 _Today, Training Ground BETA_

Ochako didn't realize how much weight her kind words had on the meek teen until now. Her suggestion for changing 'Deku' into something to be proud of was meant to encourage him, but she didn't know to what degree at the time. Though she has a good idea of the impact she had on him now.

Hajikeru just stood there, surprised by the green teen's proclamation. It somewhat reminded him of his personal creed after his return from the hospital. While he never saw Fat Gum again after that night, the words he left behind were more impactful than a physical visit from the man himself. Still pinned to his room's wall in crayon was a message that he only rewritten a few times when his vocabulary improved, but the messages throughout all the notes were consistent:

Make your Worth through Hard Work and Determination

and Show the World How Much You Want to Become a Hero

Remembering those notes brought a smirk to the bubble teen's face. Now he was more determined to win this exercise.

Katsuki, one the other hand, looked like he was ready to kill Izuku from the murderous look in his eye.

"Now you've done it, you damn nerd," snarled Katsuki.

 _5th Floor, WMD Room_

"Bakugo, give me an update!" Tenya demanded through the earpiece they were given before the exercise started. "What going on over there?"

" _I'm fucking pissed right now!_ " Katsuki angrily responded. " _You and that other extra keep defending the weapon! Don't you dare leave that room!_ "

"But we need to work as a team, Bakugo!" Tooru said through her own floating earpiece. The communications went silent for a few seconds before both teammates came to the same conclusion. "He hung up on us, Iida!"

"I noticed…" Tenya responded. "It seems Bakugo has gone rogue on us. This limits our plans, but I think we can make this work, Hagakure."

"But without Bakugo, we won't—" Tenya interrupted the invisible girl before she could finish her input.

"If we can go by anything yesterday, it's that Bakugo and Midoriya have a history together. Of what it is about is not important but if it keeps Midoriya away from here, it's a plus we need to take advantage of."

"Don't you mean it's a 'Plus Ultra' we need to take advantage of?" Her face couldn't be seen, but the invisible girl was practically radiating with an adorable smile. Tenya, in response to the adorable joke, clenched his heart out of the intense cuteness. It was so bright, the other students and All Might felt the intensity from the observation room.

 _Observation Room, Subbasement Level_

"It's so bright!"

"How is she doing that?!"

"Is anybody else imagining an adorable smile on that invisible face?"

"Sensei, the monitor is turning white!"

"Wha-? Oh right… *Ahem* Young Hagakure, I'm not sure what you are doing right now, but tone it down a little. You're causing one of our cameras to malfunction."

 _"Ah! I am?!"_ embarrassingly responded Tooru through All Might's earpiece. _"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"_

"It's perfectly fine. I'm just a little surprised you managed to pull off something like this. These are high quality cameras."

"He says that, yet we can't get sound out of them," whispered Kyoka. This caused some of the surrounding students to snicker at that comment.

"By the way, may I ask what made you irradiate like that?" asked the number one hero.

 _"Oh it was just a silly joke,"_ Tooru responded casually. _"I changed plus into 'Plus Ultra' when Iida was talking."_

"I see…"

"…"

"OKAY THEN! CONTINUE, YOUNG HAGAKURE!"

 _"Yessir!"_

 _2nd Floor, Empty Corridors_

"Guys!" Izuku yelled at his teammates. "You need to go on without—!"

"Don't look away from me, shit rag!" raged the ashen blond as another explosion rang out throughout the corridors.

"Let's go, Uraraka!" Hajikeru called out, grabbing Ochako's arm for a second to get her to start running.

"But what about Deku?!" questioned the brunette as the two began dashing through the corridors to the next set of stairs.

"He'll be fine! It's like Midoriya said before the exercise began. Bakugo is going to remain focused on him on his own accord. It doesn't look like he will cooperate with his teammates, so we don't have to worry about a number disadvantage. We'll let him take care of this while we focus on the objective. You trust Midoriya on this, right?"

Ochako gained a boost of determination as she stated: "Of course I do!"

This got Hajikeru to smirk from the proud statement. "Then let's do this!"

"Pfft… That's so lame."

"I know. I realized that after I said it."

 _5th Floor, WMD Room_

"Okay, Iida," cheerfully yelled Tooru. "I'm back!" Though when she looked around, the invisible girl noticed the room was completely bare. She had only spoken to All Might for a moment, but she didn't realize she was in her own little world for the time. It was then Tenya speedily ran back to the center of the room.

"Ah, Hagakure," Tenya spoke. "What did All Might-sensei tell you?"

"Oh, he told me to tone my cuteness down. They said it was breaking the expensive cameras or something like that."

'I'm not surprised. I almost had a heart attack from being so close,' thought the speedy teen. "Right. Well, I've been clearing the room of obstacles to level the playing field for when Uraraka and Utakata arrive," spoke the speedy teen.

"Wait; remind me why they were the two to come up here again?"

 _8 minutes remaining_

After combing through the 3rd and 4th floor with no success; both Hajikeru and Ochako made it to the entrance to the main room on the 5th floor. They snuck through one of the entrances as quietly as they could, hiding behind one of the structural pillars that held up the room. The bubble teen peeked out from their hiding spot to catch a glimpse of their opponents and their current situation.

"Just as I thought," Hajikeru whispered. "Hagakure isn't showing her presence. It's just Iida that we can see."

"How are we going to find her if she's invisible?" quietly asked Ochako.

"I have no idea. But I know she can't keep things hidden because of her Quirk. So it should be obvious if she intends to capture one of us. Watch for anything floating in midair." Ochako nodded in understanding from her teammate's observation.

Tenya was pondering in front of the WMD with his fingers to his chin in a thinking position. "Even with all the plans we laid out, I feel like something is missing from this exercise. What do you think Hagakure?"

"Don't know," Tooru responded from… somewhere in the room, but definitely in Tenya's direction. "Maybe we need to… Ooo, I know! We need to act evil! We are the Villain Team afterall!"

"Hm… You have an interesting point. And Bakugo is fulfilling that role perfectly without a second thought. Very well then. If we are the villains in this exercise, Hagakure, then we must act like it." Tenya's helmet and voice were slowly darkening in both tone and appearance.

"Yeah! Let's be evil!"

"No." At this point, Tenya's voice, helmet, and by extension his face within the helmet, have darkened considerably. "You must cast aside your whimsical ways and become…EVIL!"

"Pfffft!" sputtered Ochako. "He's so serious."

"What was that?! Was that you Uraraka?" spoke the 'evil' Tenya.

"Oh crap," whispered the brunette. "He found us, Utakata."

"Wait here," whispered Hajikeru as he smirked. "I got an idea. When we start fighting, you make your way to the weapon. If you run into Hagakure, capture her. I'll try to help as much as I can, but with Iida I may have my hands full. We got this. Ready? Break!" Due to the speed of the words that came out of her teammate's mouth, Ochako hardly got a word out of that quick explanation.

"Wait, wha-?"

It was then Hajikeru jumped out from behind the pillar he and Ochako were hiding behind, surprising both Tenya and Tooru.

"SURPRISE VILLAINS!" yelled out the bubble hero with a large grin. "I knew I would find your base of operations if I shadowed you long enough!"

'So Utakata is playing his role as the hero as well,' thought an intrigued Tenya. 'I shall not disappoint!'

"I see!" Tenya said as played his role as the villain. "You may have followed my partner and I to our base, but you're much too late to stop us, hero!"

Both Tooru and Ochako were having a difficult time keeping themselves from busting out laughing, as both were adamant about keeping their locations hidden.

'They're so serious!'

"It's never too late to stop the likes of you! Now let us have one final battle to cease this endless fighting!" The bubble teen was now pointing at the speedy teen with an intimidating finger point.

"Very well. I will grant you this last fight between us. But I will be the one to deal the bad news to the world of how the hero fell beneath my might!" Tenya readied himself with a runner stance, preparing himself for a quick victory over the bubble teen.

Said bubble teen got into a wide, stable stance, preparing his body for the first strike and a possible counterattack.

The speedy hero dashed towards the bubble hero, a wide kick wound up to end the fight as soon as it starts.

But it wasn't to be.

Hajikeru caught the incoming kick from the right with a quickly deployed inward bent left arm, though he winced at the force of the kick, and quickly held it in place before blowing a Grapefruit-type pressure bubble. Tenya was surprised that his powerful kick was caught, but it turned to uneasiness when he saw the bubble teen blow the same grapefruit-sized bubble he used in the 50 meter dash. He went to straight kick him in the torso with his right leg as an escape, but the soft breast piece seemed to have absorbed a fair portion of the impact. Grunting from the kick to his torso, Hajikeru then turned a full 270 degrees to his right and threw Tenya towards the far wall in a tumble. At the same time, his pressure bubble popped, which increased the speedster's force of impact. With a heavy grunt, Tenya slammed into the wall. His armor took the brunt of the impact, but no doubt it still hurt. Hajikeru, on the other hand, stayed in the same location as when he first started and finished his maneuver as if the pressure bubble didn't affect him.

'That was awesome!' thought the two girls. They didn't expect this large boy with a bubble blowing Quirk to be able to counter a swift kick from arguably the fastest student in class.

"Impressive," Tenya said as he shook himself off from the impact, still 'evil'. "You have vastly improved since the last time we have fought."

"Anything to put you behind bars, villain," Hajikeru said, still 'heroic'.

"But I will never stay behind bars. Because I will break out and then I will destroy the world! MWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

That last trope of 'villainy' finally sent both girls into a laughing frenzy. Tooru was somewhere near the WMD, on her back, flailing her legs about as she held her stomach. Ochako was also on the ground, facedown and slamming her fists into the concrete floor as her laughter echoed across room alongside Tooru's.

"It seems our teammates find my threat of destroying the world humorous," Tenya commented to his opponent.

"Cut the act for a sec, Iida," Hajikeru spoke in his normal voice, a slight chuckle evident. "Even I got to say that villain trope was a bit much. Still, I got to appreciate your dedication to the role."

"I simply want to give it my all, Utakata. As a proud Iida son, I refuse to give anything less than my 100% in this exercise." Tenya did as the bubble teen asked for a moment and stopped his villainous tone, if only temporary.

"Same. Now then… Where were we, villain!" The bubble teen resumed his blusterous tone, back in his hero role.

"We were in a battle to the death, Hero! But now, I must adjust my strategy!" Tenya said before dashing towards the WMD, much to the bubble teen's surprise.

 _'Aw crap,'_ _thought Hajikeru as he dashed after Tenya with a quickly made pressure bubble once he saw who he was going after._

 _Earlier_

As soon as Tenya hit the wall, Ochako dashed behind the pillars next to the one she and her bubble teammate were hiding behind. She had to be cautious at this point, firstly because she didn't know where Tooru will be, though it should be easy to tell if she was out to capture her, and she had to be extra careful of Tenya if he manages to shake off Hajikeru. While she wasn't concerned that the speedster would hurt her, she would be frustrated if he managed to keep her from their objective. Hajikeru was keeping him busy for the moment, but that would only work for so long.

Then Tenya had to take the villainy trope thing too far and now she was on the floor, completely unable to control her laughter. Thankfully, Tooru was doing the same and was just as distracted as she was.

After calming down from her laughing fit, Ochako got back up to her feet and proceeded to make her way to the weapon. Of course, it had to be the moment the invisible girl went silent that really made her worry. Seeing as Tenya was still being occupied, she decided to risk it and go for the weapon. Tapping her shoulders with one of her hands, she felt the effects of her Quirk take hold of her entire body. With the uneasy feeling of her Quirk's drawback beginning to manifest, she pushed off one of her legs and made a beeline to the WMD, floating through the air the entire time. She was so close to retrieving the weapon, but the opportunity was yanked away from her with the sudden appearance of Tenya.

"Not so fast, hero," Tenya reprimanded. He then moved the WMD away from Ochako's reach and dashed to the other side of the room with the surprisingly light weapon.

Ochako didn't have time to berate herself for missing her window of opportunity, as she was floating towards a floating roll of capture tape, no doubt held up by the invisible girl. She needed to get her feet or her hands on the ground to move away from the Tooru's capture tape, but she couldn't. She was tumbling forward and was currently parallel to the ground, so she couldn't even redirect her path if she wanted to.

"I have you now, hero!" Tooru aggressively said, standing in front of the gravity girl with the roll of capture tape long enough to wrap around her torso.

Following a loud pop, Hajikeru was flying towards the two girls. When he was to Ochako's left, he quickly blew a smaller pressure bubble in her direction to redirect their trajectory and avoid capture. The bubble popped loudly and it sent Ochako flying away from Tooru, Hajikeru to the floor, though the chest piece absorbed most of the impact, and Tooru against one of the pillars, if the yelp that came from said pillar was anything to go by. As Ochako was flying towards the floor, she released her Quirk, causing her to tumble a bit before stopping.

Hajikeru recovered from the pop first and he quickly brought out his capture tape to wrap around Tooru's wrist.

"HAGAKURE HAS BEEN CAPTURED. SHE IS OUT!" announced All Might from the PA.

"Aw darn!" Tooru said, sounding a little upset. "I wanted to get Uraraka out, not me!"

"Sorry about that, Hagakure," apologized Hajikeru.

"Eh, it's fine. But I'll get you for this next time, Utakata! Good luck with Iida!" The invisible girl then allegedly skipped out of the room, if the bouncing roll of capture tape hanging from her wrist is anything to go by. The bubble teen then went to check on his teammate, since she was affected by the pressure bubble too, if not more so from her Quirk.

"Uraraka, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ochako responded, feeling a little light-headed. "A little dizzy, but I'm fine."

"Shame my partner was captured," yelled Tenya from across the room. "It seems I will have to finish this mission without her."

"We got the numbers advantage now, but that also means he'll be on the defensive," the bubble teen whispered to his partner.

"Yeah," whispered the gravity girl. "And he can just move the weapon about like it's nothing too. Maybe we could—"

Before the gravity girl could finish her thought, the building seemed to shake whilst being accompanied by a loud sound, likely caused by an explosion.

"What the hell was that?!" Hajikeru yelled after regaining his balance. "That sounded like a bomb went off… But what could've… Oh no…" Realization seemed to enter the minds of everyone in the room when they realized there was only one person in the building who could make explosions.

"Bakugo!" Tenya demanded into his earpiece. "Did you make that explosion just now?! Answer me!"

"Deku!/Midoriya!" shouted the green haired teen's teammates.

"You okay?!" yelled the bubble teen into his earpiece. "We felt that explosion! What's going on down there?!"

 _Second Floor, Main Room (Blast Zone)_

"Hah… hah… How do you like that, Deku?!" yelled the ballistic blond. "That's what happens when you fuck with me!"

'I can't believe he fired such a powerful blast indoors,' thought Izuku as he tried to regain the rest of his hearing. 'If I hadn't dodged that… I don't even want to think about it.'

Izuku was collapsed on the ground after barely avoiding an eruption from his former friend's grenade-shaped gauntlet. After running from Katsuki for a fair amount of the exercise, he was caught by said angry blond after misinterpreting his distance from him. Then the ashen blond fired a long range explosive attack after stockpiling his explosive sweat into the grenade-shaped gauntlet, nearly mortally injuring Izuku and blowing a hole through the building where the exercise was taking place in. All and all, this exercise just went to shit.

 _"Midoriya, c'mon man! Answer!"_ quietly shouted a concerned Hajikeru _._

 _"Deku! Please, tell us you're okay!"_ yelled a concerned Ochako _._

"Agh…" groaned an injured Izuku as he pressed the earpiece to turn on his microphone. "I'm fine. That explosion came from Kacchan. He used an attack that stockpiles his Quirk to fire off a powerful explosion at range."

 _"That bastard!"_ yelled the bubble teen. _"Doesn't he know this is just an exercise?! Why would he take things that far?!"_

"Not now, Utakata… We only have a few minutes left. Where are you and Uraraka?"

"Are… Are you ignoring me?" questioned the angry blond with a twitch.

 _"5th floor, main room, close to the middle of the room,"_ responded Hajikeru. _"We're slightly offset from the center, closer to the entrance to the room. Iida's right next to the entrance."_

"I'm close to the windows," muttered Izuku. "Okay, try to keep Iida there until I make a move."

"STOP IGNORING ME, YOU SHIT!" shrieked Katsuki as he charged at Izuku.

 _5th Floor, WMD Room_

"Midoriya!" quietly shouted the bubble teen into his earpiece. "What do you mean 'make a move'?"

"…"

"Damn it, he's gone dark."

"But from the way he sounded, he must have something planned, right?" Ochako quietly said with worry still evident.

"I think so. We just need to keep Iida there until he does… whatever he has planned."

"And what's a villain to do while outnumbered?" loudly pondered the 'villainous' Tenya. "Perhaps I should thin out the remaining heroes?"

"You do that, you will be leaving one of us unguarded, villain!" counteracted the 'heroic' bubble teen. "Face it, we have you in a corner and the first one to make a move will be the one that loses!"

"But if time expires then I win, heroes! It will be a matter of when you move rather than when I will! Face it heroes, you're on the clock and I'm about to complete my last mission. What will you do now?" It was clear that Tenya was taunting the Hero Team on the grounds that said team only has a few minutes left before the time limit is up. At least, 1 minute. At most, 3 minutes.

'Damn it, Midoriya. You better have something good in your back pocket. We're out of options here,' Hajikeru thought as his nerves were starting to get to him.

 _2nd Floor, Main Room_

Izuku knew it his time wouldn't last long before his former friend would gain the upper hand in a one on one fight, but it still sucks to be on the receiving end of a beat down. After getting in a good calculated shot at Katsuki in the beginning of the match, the green haired teen was now in the angry blond's clutches as he tried to defend himself from the onslaught of explosions and punches.

'Damn it…' internally and externally groaned Izuku as he laid face up on the ground after being roughly tossed onto the concrete floor. 'He's too strong for me! I can't keep up! No choice. I have to use One-for-All now!'

When the demonic-looking blond was about to unleash another explosion the battered teen scrambled back towards one of the walls in an attempt to escape, fear clear on his face.

"Why aren't you using your Quirk, Deku?" growled the furious blond. "Do you think you're above me? Like I'm not worthy to use it on?! Should'a fucking figured. You've always been like this, even when we were kids."

"That's not it, Kacchan," muttered Izuku.

"Well, whether you use it or not, I'm gonna show you where you belong. AND IT'S BENEATH MY FUCKING FOOT!"

"Guys," Izuku whispered to his teammates on the earpiece. "Get ready. I'm giving you guys an opening."

 _"We're ready,"_ _responded Hajikeru_ _. "But what exactly i—"_ Izuku cut off the communication link before the bubble teen could finish his concern.

"I'm not backing down, Kacchan!" shouted Izuku in defiance. "I'm going to win this and I'm going to surpass you! I'm not scared of you anymore!"

"GO TO FUCKING HELL, YOU SHITNERD!"

As the two boys began charging at one another they were ready to unleash an insane amount of power, more than either of them could handle without drawbacks, at least in the green haired teen's case. Katsuki was seen stockpiling his sweat into his reared back right palm to the point where it began smoking with an orange glow. Izuku was seen charging up his cocked right fist with the same red/yellow glow combination that he used in the softball pitch yesterday, indicating he was going to sacrifice his arm for this one attack.

Katsuki was charging with a grizzly yell and a furious, open mouth smirk. His opposing party was charging at him with a look of pure, unchained determination with his tears clearing themselves out of his frustrated eyes, shouting out his attack as he got closer.

"AAAAAAAGH!"

"DETROOOIT…"

It was then Izuku quickly changed his arm's position and target from Katsuki's face to…

"DIE!"

"SMAAAASH!"

…the ceiling leading up to the 5th floor.

 _5th Floor, WMD Room_

An unfathomable amount of force rocketed right between the remainder of the Hero and Villain Teams, sending large amounts of concrete and metal soaring through the now critically damaged building.

"What?!" Tenya shouted in surprised. "What is this?!"

"This is making a move?!" shouted a startled Hajikeru.

"I got this!" Ochako shouted over the sound of ascending rubble. She quickly grabbed a broken support pillar, making it weight next to nothing with her Quirk. "Here we go! Sorry Iida!" The gravity girl cocked back the concrete pillar as if she was preparing to swing it like a baseball bat.

"Improvised Special Move: Star Comet Home Run!"

With a quick swing of the lightened pillar, Ochako sent a fair amount of the concrete bits towards Tenya. After the swing, she quickly lightened herself like before and made a long jump to the WMD.

Except Tenya wasn't blocking the chunks of concrete she sent at him as she expected him to. The gravity girl realized too late she didn't send that much concrete to the speedy teen. It was enough to have him flinch from the initial attack, but not enough to keep him distracted. She cringed when she saw him make a move on the weapon, berating herself for thinking her improvised plan would have worked.

That is until she saw a cyan and black colored blur slam into the armored teen and locked his arms around him, crashing a distance away from the weapon.

"Go, Uraraka!" yelled Hajikeru as he held a struggling Tenya in place.

The gravity girl nodded once and held her arms out in preparation of retrieving the WMD. With a light thud, she landed on the weapon.

"I got it!" Ochako yelled out in victory as she hugged the weapon.

"Nooo! The weapon!" Tenya yelled in exasperation, causing Hajikeru to loosen his grip around him from how startled he was.

"THE HERO TEAM, WINS!"

With the booming voice from the number one hero, the first match of the hero exercise concludes.

 **(Update: 5/16/18) And there's that. I meant to put in an author's note after I uploaded this, but to my dismay I forgot. Anyway, here's a side story I meant to upload along with this chapter, but was unsatisfied with how it turned out. I fixed it, I'm alright with it. There was more to it, but I got rid of it because it felt like unnecessary filler. I'm not Studio Perriot. Anyway, enjoy!**

 _Side Story: 1st Match Aftermath and the Other Matches_

"And the MVPs for the exercise are Young Iida and Young Utakata!"

"Wait, what?"

After the team exercise concluded with the Hero Team winning, the participating teams were called back to the observation room in the building's subbasement level. The members of both teams, save for Izuku, were lined up near the entrance of the observation room. While the Villain Team was mostly unharmed, the Hero Team had taken quite a bit of damage. Ochako was sick to her stomach from over using her Quirk after she retrieved the WMD and Hajikeru's head had caught a few concrete bits when he intercepted Tenya in the last leg of the exercise. Izuku had taken an entirely different level of pain when both his teammates and Tenya went to check on him. His right arm was broken from the deltoid down and his left forearm was completely covered in burns from blocking Katsuki's final attack. In short, he had a bad time.

When the bubble teen saw the explosive teen back in the observation room, he was about to berate him for being so excessive during the exercise. But he changed his mind and kept quiet after seeing the completely defeated look he had on the blond's face. From that, Hajikeru could only speculate as to why this loud, raging blond was suddenly so quiet and submitted.

"I get how Utakata was important to the exercise, but why Iida too?" questioned Tsuyu. "Why not include Midoriya and Ochako?"

"I believe I know why," answered Momo with a raised hand. "It's because both of them had a level head and kept their objectives clear. While I am not saying that All Might is wrong in saying they were both the MVP for the exercise, Iida was able to adapt to the situation better than Utakata if the tail end of the exercise was anything to go by."

"That sounds about right, as much as I hate to admit it," Hajikeru said in a slightly defeated tone. "I didn't really have a plan to go on when Iida was playing defense by himself. Add the fact that he was watching for every move we make and is able to move the bomb to any other location in a matter of seconds and we would have had to rely on something drastic. Though to be fair, I doubt it would have worked."

"Right. If I may continue, by watching the fight between Bakugo and Midoriya, I can tell that there was a personal grudge fueling Bakugo's anger. And like All Might sensei told us earlier, firing a powerful, large scale attack indoors was completely idiotic. The same could be applied to Midoriya. Uraraka and Hagakure lost focus of the exercise during the… enthusiastic display by both Utakata and Iida. And unfortunately for Hagakure, she didn't make proper use of the stealth qualities of her Quirk and was eliminated from the exercise in an attempt to eliminate Uraraka. And speaking of Uraraka, her final attack was much too reckless, not to mention near ineffective in serving its intended purpose. Had Utakata not interfered on both of her accounts, she would have been eliminated or she could have costed the Hero Team the match respectively. Overall, the Hero Team earned their victory, but was only by a small margin and it was only due to this being an exercise instead of a real situation."

…

…

"W-well… I believe both Young Iida and Young Utakata were a bit too enthusiastic in their roles, but you're correct, Young Yaoyorozu," shakily admitted the number one hero.

"We must have a starting line to go on and build up from there. Otherwise, we would never become the best possible heroes." Momo finished her closing statement with her fists on her hips and a quick huff in accomplishment.

"Oh, she is good," commented Eijiro. Most of the students around him nodded in agreement as the lined up students went to join the rest of the class.

"Yeah," shakily breathed out Minoru, though everyone who looked at him knew he wasn't talking about her intellect if his drooling mouth is anything to go by. "Really good." He wiped away some of his slobber as he continued to longingly stare at Momo's exposed cleavage. This prompted several irritated glares from all of the girls present, but also attracted the attention of several males in the room.

"Hey Mineta," Hajikeru asked from way above the small, purple teen. Said small boy drifted his large eyes to the bubble teen that looked a little too happy to see him. "Quick question: How much do you weigh?"

"Um…" nervously replied Minoru. "About 29 kilograms (65 pounds). Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just curious, that's it." His rapid back and forth hand movements really didn't do much to hide the fact that he was up to something. This got a few of the remaining students to wonder what the bubble teen's intentions are, though a certain sandy blonde jot that up as an important piece of information.

"Now it is time for the next two teams to go!" declared All Might. "And the two teams that will carry out the exercise next are Team E and Team C. Team E will be the Hero Team and Team C will be the Villain Team. As before, you will have five minutes to make a plan before the exercise can officially begin. Good Luck!"

"Well, guess I'm up!" Mina spoke up as she made her way to the exit.

"You got this, Ashido!" Tooru cheered.

"Good luck, guys," called out Hajikeru.

"Hehe. I know I do, Hagakure! And I won't need luck, Utakata, but I appreciate it. Onward, Aoyama! We're winning this exercise!"

"Entendu (Understood), mademoiselle," agreed the French teen in his sparkly hero costume.

With heads held high and blood pumping in their veins, the two teams were ready to clash with one another. And neither one were willing to give the other team an edge over them.

 _20 Minutes Later_

"Darn it, darn it, darn it, darn it, darn it!" yelled out a frustrated Mina as she stomped back into the observation room. "We didn't even make it into the bomb room! This sucks!" As she arrived, she slumped into a corner of the room to wallow in her loss with Yuga looking very sick from firing off his belly button laser beam for too long. At this point, a set of sentient gloves and boots were on her right patting her shoulder in a consoling manner.

The second match had gone by without much going on the entire time. To clarify, Mina and Yuga made it up to the 5th floor without a hitch but came across an obstacle that neither of them could get through. Momo had barricaded the doors using a combination of steel beams and hard plastic made by her Quirk and then proceeded to lay down caltrops by the door as an insurance policy in case either Mina or Yuga make it through her steel/plastic barrier. Koji talked to some local birds about the hero team's progress through the barrier, but that was about all he did. Unfortunately for the Hero Team, they began experiencing the drawbacks of their Quirks before they made it through the first barrier. Mina began getting burns from her own acid and Yuga got a stomach ache after the fifth beam left his navel. All and all: complete and utter defeat for the Hero Team.

"Excellent work, Villain Team!" All Might called out. "You managed to keep the Hero Team from even entering the designated WMD room. Job well done!"

"Thank you, All Might-sensei," spoke Momo as she bowed slightly to the number one hero. Next to her, Koji nodded nervously in appreciation.

"Now let's continue with the team pickings!"

Team J: Hanta Sero, Eijiro Kirishima (Villain) vs. Team F: Minoru Mineta, Rikido Satou (Hero)

Minoru was majorly irritated that he was paired with one of the guys instead of one of the girls. Rikido tried to get him to focus on the exercise, but to his chagrin Minoru just sped his way into the building, not giving any regard for anything in the way. Of course that impatience costed him. Once the little purple ball teen made it to the 5th floor, he was immediately snagged by a tape trap laid down by Hanta. When the sugar teen finally caught up to him, he was dangling from the ceiling trying to break out of the tape. After getting him out, Rikido 'roided out' after eating several sugar cubes and busted down the barricaded doorway.

To the Hero Team's surprise, the entire room was like a forest filled with vines hanging from the ceiling, except substitute the vines with strips of tape that reach from the ceiling to the floor at various angles and the forest creatures with a battle-ready red-head with hardened skin. Speaking of the battle ready red-head; as soon as the 'roided out' sugar teen busted his way into the WMD room, Eijiro intercepted said sugar teen after hardening his arms and face. This resulted in an impressive fist fight that got several of the students pumped up after the painfully boring match that came before. Unfortunately, the glorious fist fight only lasted a few minutes with the large, sugar teen beginning to lose consciousness due to the drawbacks of his Quirk, not to mention the amount of damage he took, and the Hardening red-head was about to drop from the amount of hits he had to tank from the surprisingly powerful Rikido. This resulted in a double knockout, but it was satisfying while it lasted.

And the encounter between Minoru and Hanta? It resulted in the little teen getting caught on a piece of tape he didn't see after rushing in blindly again. He tried to escape from the taller teen, but that only resulted in him getting caught in more tape. After getting cocooned in Hanta's tape, Minoru was captured with the issued capture tape given to them and after Rikido lost consciousness, Hanta used capture tape to capture him as well.

This resulted in the Villain Team winning in the third match.

Team G: Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro (Villain) vs. Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami, Tsuyu Asui (Hero)

The fourth match didn't last long, but it was interesting to put it bluntly.

It started with both Fumikage and Tsuyu using their respective Quirks to scale the side of the building, which caught the Villain Team by surprise when Kyoka was using her earphone jacks to find where they were in the building. Using Dark Shadow's claws, Fumikage scaled up to the window up to the 5th floor where the weapon was housed. While he was wrecking house and tanking damage from Denki's lightning and Kyoka's sound bursts, Tsuyu entered the building through the 4th floor window and made her way to the 5th floor in order to catch the Villain Team off guard. She lucked out when she found Dark Shadow tanking another one of Kyoka's sound blasts, giving her a chance to capture the weapon after incapacitating a dopey faced Denki with her tongue.

This resulted in the Hero Team winning the 4th match of the joint exercise in record time.

Team B: Shoto Todoroki, Mezo Shouji (Hero) vs. Team I: Mashirao Ojiro, Sherry Teikiatsu (Villain)

This was probably the second most intense match of the day with the 1st match being the only contender in question.

It was thought that the Hero Team had this victory in the bag when Shoto LITERALLY froze the entire building within a few seconds. He had sent Mezo out of the building before making his move, so he didn't have to worry about him being in the cross fire.

After taking his time to the WMD Room, the half-white, half-red head was expecting both members of the Villain Team to be frozen in place. However, from the strong gust of wind that knocked him out of the room and back into the corridors it was clear that his plan didn't work. He intended to return to the room for another attempt at the weapon, but he was unfortunately intercepted by the sandy blonde via another gust of strong wind. In an attempt to keep Sherry from forcing him back, he constantly shot ice from his right side every time he made contact with the wall or floor. This proved ineffective as she simply shot herself upward with a swirl of wind emitted from her legs, sidestepped using gusts from her arms and legs, or moved backwards while sending the half-white, half-red head a parting gift in the form of a gust shot. Shoto called Mezo for reinforcements after being shot back to the 4th floor and down the stairwell leading to the 3rd floor, though he wasn't entirely a big help since the multi-armed teen was sliding around trying to remain standing.

After getting his icy buns handed to him for a good five minutes, Shoto managed to finally incapacitate Sherry via freezing her legs and arms into the wall after she got too close. He and Mezo then proceeded to the WMD Room where they encountered a surprisingly still standing Mashirao. He was using his tail as a third leg to keep himself from falling backward onto the ice. Unfortunately for the tailed teen, a two on one match up was not going to end well for him. After getting his tail and left arm frozen, the Hero Team won with the capture of the weapon. After the match was called, Shoto displayed his secondary Quirk of Flames by coming in contact with the frozen building with his left hand, much to everyone's surprise.

 _After the 5th match concluded and all the students were gathered outside the exercise building_

"GOOD WORK, EVERYONE!" shouted All Might as soon as everyone was gathered. "Apart from Midoriya, no serious injuries were sustained! Every one of you performed spectacularly for your first training exercise!"

"And thankfully, we're not being threatened with expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei," offhandedly said Tsuyu. Most of the class agreed with that statement almost immediately.

"Yes, well, I'm sure Aizawa has his reasons for being tough on you. Anyway, I'm off to give Midoriya his evaluation. Change out of your costumes and head back to the classroom. Now watch how a Pro exits, LIKE HE HAS SOMEWHERE TO BE!" With an absurd about of wind pressure, All Might dashes down the tunnel that connects the training grounds to the main campus.

 **The original plan of this side story was to have the other Class 1-A guys commentate during the first match, but it got boring really quick. However, I did write down a description of Sherry Teikiatsu's Hero costume. I'm assuming everyone has seen the anime or read the manga, so it's the reason why I didn't describe anyone else's Hero costume. But since this is an original character that I made up for the sake of the fiction (Also to even out the classes because evens are better):**

The sandy blonde in question was wearing a frosty white and forest-green skintight bodysuit with a silver, heart-shaped tornado just above the swell of her breasts. On her arms are thick leather arm sleeves covered in white, durable fabric that reaches to her deltoids and on her legs are the same materials and fabric that reaches her upper thighs. To wrap it up, her hair is tied up in a loose, twisted ponytail that appears to look like a tornado.

 **Okay now I'm done.**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 11/12/18**

 **I did some slight edits with the dialogue portions and how things went down. Nothing major in this chapter. Though I did manage to kill half an hour looking over this chapter. So, there's that.)**

 **(Edit: 4/21/19**

 **You know that moment when you think something is good and you don't look at it for months on end and it turns out there was a noticeable blunder that everyone saw by now?... Yeah... It's a terrible feeling.)**


	4. The USJ

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

"Excuse me, kid! What's having All Might for a teacher like?!"

The annoying reporter lady received a reply in the form of a large teen chewing gum.

"Um, kid?"

The large teen raised a single finger as a reply.

"Kid?"

He blow a bubble using his gum as a follow up reply.

"Ugh! Nevermind! How about you? What's having All Might for a teacher like?"

A shorter teen next to him imitated what his friend did with a bored expression.

"For the love of… Just get out of here."

The two friends walked away from the reporters, fist bumping after getting some distance from the reporters.

As expected, news of All Might taking a teaching job at U.A. spread quickly and the media latched on to the opportunity to interview the students under his tutelage. Some were cooperative and gave them what they wanted in their own words, then there were those that avoided the questions given to them in their own way.

"Good plan," Denryoku plainly said as he spit out his piece of gum into the wrapper, somewhat discontent with chewing gum so early in the morning.

"You're welcome," Hajikeru replied, still chewing on his own gum. "I'd rather not say anything to them since they have a tendency to twist words around and once they get one, they need to have more. Freakin' leeches."

"Though I can't help but think those journalists will write something demeaning about U.A. students after the way we blew them off like that."

There was a brief pause in his step before Hajikeru dropped his head in realization.

"…Crap," hissed the bubble teen, losing his gum to the cement as he prepared it for another bubble. "Aw man…"

 _Later_

 _Class 1-A_

After the morning bell rang in significance of the start of homeroom, Aizawa trudged his way into class with his implied sleep deprivation still present. He then took out a wad of papers from his sleeping bag and placed them on his desk.

"Good morning class," droned Aizawa. "Hope you're rested from yesterday's exercise for the day. I reviewed your evaluations from yesterday and found some of you need some extra work."

'Uh oh,' collectively thought the class.

"Uraraka, Hagakure." The girls in question straightened up at their homeroom teacher calling them out. "Keep your composure when it comes to exercises like the one yesterday." Both girls nodded in agreement at their minor blunder yesterday.

"Bakugo." This got the ashen blond's attention. "You have an immense amount of talent, but it's being held back by that childish mentality. Stop wasting your talent and grow up."

"I know," Katsuki begrudgingly admitted.

"And Midoriya. As I've said before, you can't rely on someone to help you when you destroy your arm. If you keep using the 'I can't control my Quirk' excuse, you won't get far. So show a little initiative in fixing that problem, would ya?"

"Yessir!" yelled out Izuku.

"Good. Now on to today's announcements. I know it's early to bring this up, but you will need to…"

'It's not another Quirk test, is it?!' collectively thought Class 1-A.

"Pick a class president."

'It's something school related!'

And like that, the entire class erupted in declarations of becoming the class representative.

"I want to be class rep!"

"No, pick me!"

"I wouldn't mind being class president."

"Such a position is destined for someone like—"

"I'll do it! Pick me! Pick me!"

"I'll declare all girls to expose at least 30 centimeters of thigh if you pick me!"

"I'll form an enforcement group for inappropriate behavior if I get the position!"

"I can do the job better than any one of these losers!"

"SILENCE!"

With an authoritative shout, Tenya managed to cease the mess of voices.

"Those that seek this position are tasked with the responsibility of your classmate's wellbeing. Simply saying you want the position does not mean you're right for the job. Being the representative of this class requires esteem and trust amongst your peers. Therefore, I recommend a democratic vote to choose who will be the class representative! This is the only fair way to approach this!"

Several of the students silently agreed with what Tenya was proposing while everyone else were mostly amused by the fact that his hand was raised the highest in the class.

"Not that I don't agree with you, Iida, but it's a little early for that trust to be there for anyone in the class," Tsuyu point out as she turned around to give the speedy teen her usual straight look.

"And wouldn't everyone just vote for themselves in the end?" pointed out Eijiro.

"It's the primary reason why I recommended it in the first place," counteracted Tenya. "In the short amount of time we have been in this class, the one to garner the most votes is the one to have earned this position, no?" The speedy teen then gave his attention to his class's homeroom teacher. "Aizawa-sensei! May we proceed with this method of choosing the class representative?!"

"As long as you decide by the deadline, I don't care how you choose," droned the shaggy homeroom teacher.

"Very well! Everyone cast your votes!"

After calibrating the touch screen function on every student's desk for voting purposes and after every student put in their votes, the results appeared on the blackboard at the front of the class. They mostly consisted of one vote, but the ones that stood out were Izuku and Momo with three votes each and Hajikeru with two votes.

"How did I get three votes?!" questioned a surprised Izuku.

"Alright you losers!" shouted an irritated Katsuki. "Which one of you voted for Deku?!"

"Hey, better him than you, right?" Hanta taunted.

As the angry blond started yelling profanities at the tape teen, Ochako was quietly whistling in innocence a few rows back.

'Maybe I'll keep my vote for Deku to myself,' the brunette thought to herself.

"I received one vote?" questioned Tenya, confusion clear in his voice.

"You sound surprised," addressed Momo with a scrunched brow. "You didn't vote for yourself, Iida?"

"After all that talk, you still voted for someone else?" asked Rikido. "What are you doing, Iida?"

"C'mon guys, lay off," Hajikeru said as he inserted himself into the conversation. "If he voted for someone else, he must have a good reason for it, right?"

"I mean, sure but-" Rikido was cut off by Aizawa calling up Izuku and Momo to the front. It was then everyone that was standing went back to their respective seats.

"Alright, it's a tie between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu," Aizawa said as he remained in his sleeping bag. "So, which one of you wants the position?"

"Um… Uh…" Izuku was nervously shaking and sweating, not being used to standing in front of a large crowd.

"If it is alright with you Midoriya, I would like to attain the position as class representative," Momo politely requested seeing the meek teen shake in his red boots.

"Uh, sure, Yaoyorozu. I-it's all yours." From that, Izuku gave out a slight sigh of release. He didn't think he was ready to be in any position of power yet, but at least he wasn't at the helm. Though to be fair, he was technically the first mate, so the pressure was still there.

"Alright, the Class President will be Yaoyorozu and the Vice President will be Midoriya." Izuku audibly gulped at having his new position announced to everyone in the classroom, while Momo softly smiled to her fellow students.

"I'm good with this," spoke up Denki.

"I think we're in good hands," Tsuyu said with a smile.

"This is gonna be awesome!" yelled out Sherry.

"Settle down," Aizawa called out. "You still have a few minutes before your first class, so talk amongst yourselves until it's time to leave."

'Then what was the point of telling us to settle down?' internally questioned some of the students.

 _Lunchtime_

 _Mess Hall_

"We may have different classes in the day at different times, but I think the same should be applied to meal times. It's incredibly impractical to have most, if not all, students in the mess hall at the same time," Denryoku pondered as he and Hajikeru took a seat at a rectangular table suitable for 10 people. The electro-teen placed down his lunch tray, which consisted of a shredded, barbeque chicken sandwich with coleslaw under the top bun and a lemon soda. On the bubble teen's tray is a rice bowl topped with thinly sliced beef and various steamed vegetables and a lemon iced tea.

"Yeah, but at least we got here before the lunch rush," the bubble teen added.

"Lunch Rush is already here, Haji."

Hajikeru gave his deadpanned friend an unamused look before responding to the bad joke.

"Oh very funny."

"I thought it was little funny," spoke a familiar, bubbly voice from behind the two roommates. The voice belonged to Ochako accompanied by Izuku and Tenya.

"Oh hey guys," Hajikeru responded with a smile. "Take a seat, there's plenty to go around."

"Appreciated, Utakata!" adamantly responded Tenya.

"Friends of yours?" asked Denryoku to his closest friend as the trio took their seats.

"Yup," answered Hajikeru. "I know Iida from the first day and I got to know Midoriya and Uraraka yesterday during the team exercise."

"Alright, I suppose I'll introduce myself to them. It would avoid any quiet awkwardness while you get napkins."

"Oh c'mon, did we really forget—ugh, nevermind. I'll be right back. You mingle or something."

"Alright." Denryoku then called for the attention of the recently seated trio as the bubble teen left. "Alright, while Mr. Bubbles is getting napkins… My name is Denryoku Emera. I've been friends with Haji since we were kids. It's good to meet newly made friends of his."

'Hehe… Mr. Bubbles,' cheerily thought Ochako.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Emera!" loudly spoke Tenya as he bowed to the electro-teen. "I am Tenya Iida!"

"You're a bit loud. Tone it down a little, would ya?" hushed the electro teen. This got the speedy teen to realize the many eyes focused on him and gave a bow along with an apology.

"My apologies."

"I'm Ochako Uraraka!" chirped Ochako with a mouth full of rice. "Utakata was on my and Deku's team during the team exercise yesterday! He was kinda awesome, but also really weird. Then again, Iida was just as awesome, but even weirder than him."

'Deku?' internally questioned Denryoku as Iida questioned Ochako's description of him during the team exercise. 'Isn't that an insult? She seems like a nice person. Why would she call someone the equivalent of 'useless'?'

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya," stuttered out Izuku. "It's good to meet a friend of Utakata's."

"Izuku Midoriya?" parroted Denryoku with a questioning tone.

"Uh… yes?" The stare the electro-teen gave with his coal grey eyes was making the meek teen very uncomfortable.

"As in the same Izuku Midoriya that took down the Zero-bot in the entrance exam?"

"H-how did you know about that?" Izuku was growing more and more nervous with every sentence spoken by the electro-teen, though he didn't really know why. There wasn't any hostility in his voice, but there wasn't a feeling of comfort coming from him either. This, in turn, drew the attention of the other two occupants at the table.

"Haji and I were looking over the results for the practical portion of the entrance exam after we watched our acceptance letters and we happened to focus on both your score and some other guy's, Katsuki Bakugo if I remember correctly, due to how polar they were."

This got Izuku to flinch slightly from the mere mention of his old friend's name, something Denryoku chalked up for later.

"And we happened to see your score of 60 rescue points with zero villain points. At the time we can only hypothesize as to how it was possible for someone to rake up that many points when we weren't even informed of the additional rescue points. But since you just confirmed that you did destroy the Zero-bot, I would like some details as to how it occurred and why you did it despite it being worth squat."

Despite not feeling any hostility from the electro teen, Izuku couldn't help but feel intimidated. From the way he addresses Hajikeru, he seems to be very familiar with him if the nicknames are anything to go by. The traits he has displayed while addressing him tells the meek teen that he's very analytical and pensive. He's a much different person compared to the bubble teen.

"Should you ask such a question from Midoriya after only knowing his name?" asked Tenya. "That isn't very polite, Emera."

"I'm not forcing him to respond. It's his choice whether he wants to answer my question or not."

"Um…" stuttered out Izuku. "Well, I… uh…"

"Dude, why are you interrogating Midoriya?" asked Hajikeru with a raised eyebrow and a generous handful of napkins in his hand. "Also look who I found." Poking out from behind him were a waving Mina and Tooru, both satisfied with finding a couple of empty seats and joining their newest friend for lunch. They both took up empty seats closest to the center of the table.

"I'm just asking Midoriya for an answer to my question," casually answered Denryoku.

"Semantics," plainly responded the bubble teen.

"Eh… you make a good point. Okay, I was interrogating Midoriya."

"Pfffft…" Ochako sputtered out a few grains of rice from the blunt response.

'Well, it certainly felt like it,' thought the inheritor of One-for-All, feeling more relaxed now that he was no longer the focus point.

"I'm glad you could join us once again, Utakata," Tenya interjected before Hajikeru could continue asking about his best friend's interrogation of his newest friend. "I've been meaning to ask you something from earlier this morning."

This caught the bubble teen's attention, since that morning was the election for Class President.

"Alright, shoot," Hajikeru replied.

"First, I must thank you for standing up for my decision to vote for someone more qualified for the Class Representative than myself."

"Wait you didn't vote for yourself, Iida?" Mina questioned after chewing a portion of lady fingers from her salad. During homeroom she was too disappointed to see the rest of results of the election, so she didn't see who got who's vote, save for Izuku and Momo. "Then how did you get one vote?"

"I voted for him," Hajikeru answered in Tenya's steed. This gave him a few looks of attention, especially from the speedy teen. "The team exercise from yesterday was enough evidence to vote for either you or Yaoyorozu, but you managed to get my vote with that short speech before the moment of truth. Honestly, I'm bit surprised you didn't vote for yourself with how much you wanted it."

"I know!" contributed Tooru after taking a slurp of her spaghetti and wiping the sauce around her mouth. To those who are right next to her, it was slightly unnerving to watch food disappear into what is definitely her mouth with the sauce being the only evidence that there is even someone eating. "You were going on about how 'prestigious' it is to be Class Pres, so I thought you wanted the position badly. Plus, you totally pull off the Class Pres look with those glasses!"

"I thought the same thing!" Ochako added, a bit of rice hanging just under her mouth.

"Don't you think that's a bit blunt?" questioned Izuku to the girls. "There's more to being Class President than looks, like Utakata said earlier."

"As he had said before, I was simply following my own judgment, Midoriya," Tenya stated as he continued to dig into his curry and rice. This caught the attention of the meek teen, letting his wad of rice and fried pork cutlets down into the bowl along with his chopsticks. "You demonstrated impressive judgment and guts during the Entrance Exam and again during the team exercise yesterday. Both are good qualities for a leader to have. It's the reason why I voted for you."

"Wait. That was you?" Izuku responded with surprise in his voice. "Then who was the other person who voted for me?"

"Like you have to ask that question," answered Hajikeru, looking Izuku in the eyes before shifting his own rectangular ones to a certain bob-cut brunette next to him.

Moving his gaze to where the bubble teen shifted his eyes lead him to Ochako, who was trying to look anywhere but Izuku's face. Of course when their eyes met, she got a bit flustered from being caught as one of the two that voted for the meek teen.

"Oh, hahahaha!" nervously giggled Ochako. "I guess you caught me. Ahahahaha…"

"Hehehe…" half heartedly joined in Izuku before stopping to think about his current position as Class 1-A's Vice President. "As flattered as I am that you two voted for me, I'm kind of nervous. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the Vice President position."

"I don't think I'm ready either, but I'm sure we'll both manage," replied the dark haired teen.

"Yeah, don't fret Midoriya," added Hajikeru. "I'm sure you'll be fi— wait a minute…" The bubble teen shifted his attention to his closest friend in confusion. "What do you mean 'we'll both manage'?"

This got the table residents to look at the electro-teen in confusion. Being put in the center of attention, Denryoku decided to speak of his new position within Class 1-B.

"By 'we'll both manage', I mean I have the same position as Midoriya in Class 1-B," firmly stated Denryoku as he took another bite of his sandwich.

"You're the Vice President of Class 1-B?!" Mina questioned loudly. 'Who the heck is this guy, anyway?'

"How did this happen?!" the bubble teen loudly questioned.

"Keep it down, would you?" berated Denryoku. "But yes, I was elected Vice President of Class 1-B. My actions yesterday during our battle exercise seemed to have won over some of my classmates. So, I got second highest overall votes and was given the position."

"And there you go," Hajikeru commented while taking a sip of his iced tea. "Freakin' hell, man. When did you turn into a big shot?" Then realization hit the bubble teen when he went for another mouthful of rice and beef. "Wait… That reminds me. If I voted for Iida, then who the heck voted for me?"

"I did!" spoke up Tooru and Mina at the same time.

"Wait, really?!"

"Nice job, Lady Killer," Denryoku said while hiding a subtle, teasing smile behind his sandwich.

"Dude!" The bubble teen glared at his best friend in distain from that comment while his face seemed to burn with embarrassment. This, in turn, got all of the table residents to chuckle or giggle at Hajikeru's expense.

Out of nowhere, a loud siren came blaring to life, greatly startling the students. It was then followed by a robotic voice that repeated:

 _LEVEL 3 SECURITY BREACH_

 _PLEASE EVACUATE THE FACILITY_

"Level 3?!" shouted Tenya. "What does that mean?"

"It means someone has infiltrated the school!" spoke an unnamed upper classman. "We need to get out of here, now!"

Except instead of evacuating the vicinity, everyone within the mess hall was pressed up against each other with no indication of moving towards the exit. And yes, exit, not exits.

What made it worse is that in the midst of all the panic is the group of seven was disbanded within a few seconds. Now it was just Denryoku and Hajikeru in the sea of panic.

"And I was just talking about this earlier!" yelled an irritated Denryoku, a far cry from the calm and collected electro teen on display earlier. In addition to his irritation, his eyes have also taken an electric green color and his hands were shoved into his pockets by his own power.

"Dude, just get to the exit!" shouted an equally irritated Hajikeru.

"How?! Everyone is panicking and we're stuck with everyone shoving everyone away!"

"Vice Rep!" shouted a voice over the roaring students. The owner of said voice slammed into Hajikeru with enough force to make him grunt, receiving a glare of annoyance courtesy of said bubble teen. "Sorry about that! So this is where you've been, Vice Rep."

The teen in question had bone-white skin, ash grey hair, and large teeth with a distinct lack of lips. Oddly enough, he didn't seem concerned about the chaos that was happening at the moment.

"Honenuki!" Denryoku shouted, still very irritated. "Tell me you found a way out of this!"

"Nah, no openings," the lipless teen said. "Nothing but panic. I only bumped into this guy because of all the pushing and shoving. Sorry again, big guy."

"It's not a big deal," responded the bubble teen through a couple of grunts. "I've been through worst. This is becoming a close second though!"

"Neat."

The two roommates/friends could only sweat-drop from the casual response that came from the lipless teen despite the chaos.

"Hey, isn't that your friend?" asked Denryoku.

The bubble teen drew his attention to what his close-friend pointed out: a floating Tenya with his pant legs pulled up, no doubt prepping himself to use his Quirk. As if on cue, the exhaust pipes on the speedy teen's legs roared to life, which resulted in a series of backflips, followed by a slam into the wall just above the exit.

"Everyone!" shouted Tenya as he held onto an overhead pipe. "Everything is okay! It's just the press! There is no need to panic! We are not in danger! Please exit the Mess Hall in an orderly fashion!"

With broken synchronization, the entire sea of students looked out of the Mess Hall to find the masse of reporters attempting to enter one of the main buildings. The only reason why they haven't succeeded in entering was because of Present Mic's and Eraserhead's efforts. With confirmation that they weren't in any danger, the students began to file out of the Mess Hall, calmly this time.

"You mean to tell me that this whole thing happened because the freakin' press from this morning managed to break into the campus," growled a clearly angered Hajikeru. "It's official. I hate the press."

"Same," plainly replied a now calmed down and no longer green eyed Denryoku, resuming his deadpanned expression.

"Eh, they're not that awful," responded the lipless teen. "They've definitely earned that bad reputation, though."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Hajikeru wondered. "Are you from Class 1-B?"

"Hm? Oh right. I'm Juzo Honenuki. I'm from Class 1-B. What about you, big guy?"

"I'm Hajikeru Utakata. I'm your Vice President's best friend. Please stop calling me 'big guy'."

"Can do."

 _U.A. Side Entrance_

While the students were evacuating the Mess Hall, several notable U.A. instructors/Pro Heroes were gathered in front of the remnants of the dubbed 'U.A. Barrier'.

"A simple human reporter couldn't have done this," spoke a well dressed, bipedal... mouse?... bear?... dog?... principal. He was wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt and red tie and black dress pants with a pair of brown boots. On the right side of his face was a single scar that overlapped his eye. "Someone had the intention of disturbing our grounds, but for what? To spite us? Or to wage something greater?"

Behind him are the Youthful Heroine: "Recovery Girl", the R-Rated Hero: "Midnight", and the Space Hero: "Thirteen", all clad in their hero outfits.

"What would you suggest, sir?" asked Thirteen through a robotic voice filter.

"I'll have Cemetoss put up a temporary barrier until we can replace the doors properly. Until then, keep this quiet amongst the students. We don't want them panicking over this."

"Alright, but what will we tell them when they ask about this?" asked Midnight.

"Maintenance," simply responded the mouse?... bear?... dog?... principal. While the simple answer was meant to gather some form of humor, the fact that the metal barrier meant to keep out intruders was disintegrated weighed heavily on the minds on those present.

 _The Next Day_

"Now about today's Hero Training," Aizawa addressed in his deadpanned tone. "This time you will be supervised by All Might, myself, and another Pro. Today's exercise is important. One of the key skills of heroics: how to act and respond during a disaster. In other words: Rescue Training."

"Sounds like another rough day ahead of us, guys," Denki responded in a sullen tone.

"Don't be pessimistic, Kaminari," Hajikeru countered. "With any luck, this should be easier than being pitted against each other and fighting to the death."

"As much fun as that sounds, this is what being a hero is all about!" excitedly interjected Eijiro, ignoring the confused looks from his optimism on the 'fight to the death' portion of Hajikeru's statement. "I can't wait!"

"It's completely up to you if you want to wear your hero costume for this activity," continued the shaggy homeroom teacher. As he spoke he pressed a familiar button that many have seen yesterday, the same button that All Might used to introduce the students' hero costumes for the joint exercise. "Some of them are ill suited for this kind of training, but it's not up to me to decide. The training area is a ways away, so we'll be taking a bus to get there. Get changed and meet at the front gates in 15 minutes. Dismissed."

 _20 Minutes Later_

 _Bus (Destination: Rescue Training Exercise Location)_

"So can someone tell me why we're taking a civilian bus to our rescue exercise location?" Hajikeru asked several moments after the bus began moving. "Not that I'm being a prick or anything, but why not a school bus?"

"It has the U.A. logo on the front, doesn't it?" countered the spiky redhead that was sitting across from the bubble teen. "That should count as the school's bus."

"You know what I mean, Kirishima."

"Heh, I know," cheekily replied Eijiro with a sharp, toothy smile.

"Hey Midoriya," Tsuyu drew the attention to the class's vice president. "I want to tell you something." *ribbit*

"Oh yeah?" blushed the meek teen. "What did you want to ask me, Asui?"

"I want you to call me Tsu. That wasn't all I wanted to say, though." The frog girl briefly paused before continuing. "Your Quirk kinda resembles All Might's." *ribbit*

All thought processes seemed to have ceased for the inheritor of One-for-All. He was reduced to a stammering mess as he struggled to get a sentence out.

"R-r-r-really?! I n-n-never noticed that!"

"I mean I kinda see where you're coming from, Asui…" entered Hajikeru.

"You can call me Tsu, Utakata," responded Tsuyu, catching the bubble teen of guard.

"Oh… Uh… Okay then… Um…"

"Hehehe, not used to calling someone new by their first name, eh Utakata?" voiced a grinning Mina two seats away.

"Kinda, yeah," quickly responded the bubble teen with a slightly pink face. "Anyway I get why you would say Midoriya's Quirk is like All Might's, Tsu. What with the insane strength and all. But I don't think I've seen All Might break his limbs every time he punches something. It's like an exchange in Midoriya's case: you get a massive amount of strength, but you sacrifice the limb you're using your Quirk on. Then there's that glow around Midoriya's arm that appears whenever he uses it, probably a side effect of his Quirk."

"You got to admit, though," interjected Eijiro. "Strength enhancements Quirks are pretty similar, but you can do a lot of cool stuff with them. Too bad my Hardening Quirk isn't that awesome. I can harden portions of my body to increase my durability, but it isn't anything flashy."

"I think it's pretty neat, Kirishima," commented Midoriya from beside Tsuyu. "You can easily go pro with a Quirk like that."

"He's not wrong," spoke Hajikeru with a grin present on his face. "You're easily one of those guys that can tank damage and keep going, but you can also play an offensive role if need be. You have a multipurpose Quirk, man."

"You think so?" asked Eijiro, a bit unsure about his classmate's compliments. "I mean I'm flattered, but Heroes are also ranked by how popular they are to the public. Flashy Quirks tend to stand out more in those cases."

"If you want the idéal (ideal/perfect) Quirk for the best combinaison (combination) of power and dazzle, then look no further than moi," spoke up Yuga with a sparkle in his eye.

"Except it really doesn't do well when you get a tummy ache after you use it, huh?" Mina responded, putting a comforting hand on Yuga's shoulder, much to the sparkly teen's chagrin.

"You want to talk cool and powerful?" Denki asked from one of the front facing seats next to Hajikeru in the back. "You can't not talk about Bakugo, Todoroki, and Teikiatsu. They were so badass during the team exercise yesterday!" This comment received an undisclosed emotion from Shoto, a scoff from Katsuki, and a light blush and girlish giggle from Sherry from the back of the bus.

"Sure but between those three, Bakugo is going to be the least popular of them," commented Tsuyu. "He would have had a chance if were less angry." *ribbit*

"What did you say?!" exploded Katsuki. "I'll kick your ass, Frog-Face!"

"See?"

"You know it's kinda sad to say we already know your personality is the same as flaming crap with month old sewage after only knowing you for a few days, Bakugo," Denki replied in a matter of factly manner.

"You want to repeat that Electro-Dolt?!" angrily replied the explosion teen.

"I mean, he's not wrong…" quietly muttered the bubble teen, hoping the angry blond didn't hear him.

"You say something, Pink Eye?" Katsuki spoke in a growl.

"Nothing important, Bakugo," calmly responded Hajikeru, not paying mind to the nickname.

"Tch. Whatever."

"Look alive, kids," spoke up Aizawa as he pulled the bus up to a large, dome shaped building. "We're here."

 _USJ Main Entrance_

Inside the domed building was a variety of designated 'zones', all with a specific theme meant to represent the various situations heroes will encounter in their career. This is where their rescue exercise will take place.

"Holy crap!" shouted Denki. "Is this Universal Studios Japan?!"

"Can't be," responded Hajikeru, looking equally dumbfounded. "This place is too small to be USJ."

"Perhaps so," spoke up a robotic filtered voice, drawing the attention to a figure in a puffy space suit. "But Universal Studios Japan is a place of fun and leisure. This place is meant to get you prepared for the inevitable moment when you will need to carry out rescue operations from disasters and accidents of any kind. I call this place the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint', better known as the USJ!"

'So, not Universal Studios Japan…' thought some of the students.

"Whoa!" Izuku gushed in awe. "It's the Space Hero: 'Thirteen'! He's known for being an incredible Rescue hero who has carried out hundreds of rescue operations!"

"Ooooh!" Ochako squealed in equal awe. "I love Thirteen! He's one of my favorite heroes ever!"

"Thirteen," addressed the homeroom teacher. "Where's All Might? I thought he was meeting us here."

"Well," slowly answered the Space Hero. "He won't be joining us today. Something came up and it demands his full attention." As Thirteen spoke, he lifted up three fingers to the confusion of the students save for one.

'Does that mean All Might went over his limit for the day?' Izuku thought worryingly.

"Well, it can't be helped," Aizawa sighed. "Let's get started then."

"Excellent," Thirteen addressed the students. "Before we start, I have one thing to say. Well, maybe two things. Possibly three. Four. Perhaps—"

"We get it," droned the students in synchronization.

"Oh, right. I'll try to keep this brief, so hold your questions and comments to the end. As I'm sure some of you are aware, my Quirk is known as Black Hole. With it, I can disintegrate anything within the general direction of my fingertips. I much prefer to use this power to save lives, but it can easily be used to kill. I don't doubt that there are those amongst you that have a Quirk with a similar danger to them. With the current laws and restrictions in place, we're limited with what we can do in public, at least without the proper licensing. And even then, we can't use our Quirks whenever we want.

"With power, there comes restraint. You've learned of your hidden potential with Aizawa's Quirk Assessment Test and you've experienced how dangerous your Quirks can be in All Might's Hero Training. This time, you will learn how your Quirks can be used to save lives. You've come to U.A. to help people, to become the new generation of heroes. I'm hoping your experience here will be fruitful. That will be all."

As Thirteen bowed in conclusion of his/her speech, the class cheered in appreciation for the Space Hero's words of wisdom.

"Alright," Aizawa addressed the class as they quieted down. "I want you to form six groups of—"

Before the eraser hero could finish his instructions, a rippling noise brought his attention to the fountain in the central square where he saw a mass of swirling black particles with a purple glow around them. As the mass grew, a swirling wind with a warped undertone was gradually becoming louder and more violent until a pale hand was seen emerging from within. The owner of the hand emerged from the black mass like a reanimated corpse from the grave as he showed off his scrawny physique and the multitude of dismembered hands all over his arms, head, shoulders, neck, and face. From the growing mass of black particles emerged a multitude of different people, all unique with a similar feeling of dread around them.

Seeing as how they were now in danger, Aizawa acted with the upmost urgency. "Everyone, stay together and don't move!"

"Wha—? What's happening?!" questioned a worried Hajikeru. The bubble teen witnessed what was coming out of the black mass, as did several other students.

"Who the heck are those guys?" asked Eijiro, clearly not feeling the sense of danger coming from the group of people that came out of nowhere.

"Stay where you are!" ordered Aizawa. "These are villains!"

Hearing real to life villains have infiltrated the facility they were supposed to train immediately put most of the students in a state of fear and worry. They were going to learn about rescue training today, not fight for their lives.

"Space Hero: Thirteen… and Eraserhead…" spoke a spectral voice from the now condensing black particle mass. "According to the staff schedule I received the other day, All Might is supposed to be here. Yet I don't see him."

"Where is he?" asked the man with the multiple hands. "We've come all this way to see All Might and he can't even have the nerve to show up…"

Aizawa was unraveling his capture scarf and setting down his slitted goggles in preparation for a fight as the hand villain continued speaking in his raspy voice.

"Maybe killing some of his students will grab his attention? I wonder…"

 _U.A. Staff Room_

"Ugh…" sighed the decrepit form of the number one hero. "This sucks… Hopefully things go well over there without me. Maybe I'll show up at the end and say something inspirational. I still got to wait until I can get enough out of my muscle form to do it."

 _USJ_

"Sensei," Momo asked the Space Hero. "Shouldn't the alarms for this place have gone off by now?"

"They should have," responded Thirteen. "But the fact that they haven't is very worrying."

"If the sensors aren't working, then there must be someone that's jamming them," Shoto deduced. "This place is far from the campus and they picked a time when there'd be few people around. These villains must have planned this. This attack is too coordinated to be a petty break-in."

"Thirteen!" Aizawa shouted to his fellow teacher. "Get the students out of here and see if you can call for help. Whoever is jamming the sensors is likely an electric type Quirk and they're likely jamming communications from getting out or in as well. Kaminari, check if you can call for help with your Quirk."

"Got it!" responded Denki as he began to fiddle with his earpiece.

"Wait, Sensei!" Izuku called out. "You can't fight them all by yourself! Your Quirk won't work on a group that large. Your fighting style revolves on capturing your opponents after nullifying their Quirk. A head-on battle isn't—"

"Midoriya," calmly addressed the homeroom teacher. "If there's one thing you will learn from this experience, make it this." He prepared his capture scarf by wrapping both ends loosely around his hands and arms, leaving the middle portion hanging loosely around his neck. "No Pro Hero is a one-trick pony."

 _As Eraserhead Cleans up House_

"Incredible," Izuku said. "He can hold his own against a crowd that big."

"This is no time for analysis, Midoriya!" barked Tenya. "We need to evacuate the facility! Let's go!"

"You are not leaving."

The black mass of particles from earlier cut off their escape with the same deep, spectral voice, surprising the students and Thirteen.

"Greetings, U.A.," spoke the mass with two glowing, yellow slits. "We are the League of Villains. I must apologize for intruding, but we've come here, to the bastion of heroism, with the intention… of killing the Symbol of Peace."

Shock and terror could be felt from the students from the declaration that came from the black mist villain.

'Kill the… Symbol of Peace?'

'They're here to kill All Might?'

"We were under the impression that he would be here today. But that doesn't matter. I still have a role to play."

With a combined attack, both Eijiro and Katsuki dashed towards the mist villain in an attempt to take him out. The hardening teen threw a wild left punch and the explosion teen fired off an explosion from his gauntleted right arm.

"You think we'd let you do whatever the hell you want?!" shouted Eijiro.

"Impressive." The mist villain emerged from the smoke of the explosion very much unharmed, spreading his presence around the group of students. "This year's bunch is full of impressive hero candidates."

"Both of you, get back!" yelled Thirteen.

"Scatter…"

The black mass of particles surrounded the students, putting them into a panic. Several of them managed to escape by dragging others with them or being thrown out themselves, while others were caught up in the black mist. When it cleared, there was nothing left of the students left behind.

"What did you do to them?!" yelled Mina after seeing the absence of her other classmates, fear evident in her voice.

"I sent them away to be dealt with, child," calmly replied the mist villain.

If the remaining student's didn't feel fear the previous times, then their blood must have frozen with the announcement that their classmates could possibly be killed.

The remaining students consisted of Mina, Mezo, Tenya, Rikido, Ochako, Hajikeru, and Hanta. Out of the 22 students, only seven of them are accountable while the rest are unknown.

 **I'm already working on the second part on this story, so expect it soon. Also, I really appreciate the positive feedback I'm getting from the comments. They're few in number, but I'm really humbled by them. So thank you for enjoying this fic! On another note, WHY THE TWO WEEK WAIT?! Two dreaded words: University Exams. They are such a pain! I just finished my last exam today, so expect more of this soon! Okay, mini-rant over. Bye ya!**

 **-OmegaBox**


	5. The USJ Incident

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

Everything happened too fast. From the arrival of the mass of villains, to the appearance of the mist villain, to most of his classmates disappearing without a trace, it was all too much to handle at once. He barely even registered pushing Mezo and Mina out with him when the mist was surrounding him and his classmates. His first instinct was to get as many of his friends out of the mist, but he couldn't get everyone. Unfortunately, he didn't see Tooru or Izuku anywhere.

"What did you do to them!?" Hajikeru shouted in shock from his other classmate's disappearance.

"As I told the girl, boy," echoed the mist villain. "To be dealt with."

"I don't have specific locations, but I believe our classmates are scattered throughout the facility," stated Mezo with his multiple arms set like a satellite dish with ears and eyes at the ends.

"So they're safe?" asked a concerned Ochako.

"Most likely, yes. And hopefully they stay that way." As he responded, the multi-armed teen set down his arms, turning his focus to the black mass of misty particles.

"What can we do now?" Hanta asked.

"We call for backup," announced the Space Hero. "But since the alarms haven't gone off and we cannot contact the school through a transmission, we need to get someone to tell them what's going on. Iida, since you're the only one that can make that distance in the shortest amount of time, you will have to be the one to go."

"I can't just leave my classmates behind!" argued Tenya. "Everyone is fighting for their lives. I cannot simply abandon them!"

"The USJ has sensors on the outside. You won't be followed. It's our safest bet right now. Please. Use your Quirk to save us." Thirteen spoke in an almost begging tone, striking a chord with those around him. It shouldn't be a surprise since he is one of the best heroes for rescue operations.

"Go, Iida," Hajikeru spoke up with a scowl, gaining the attention of the speedy teen. "Listen to Thirteen. That plan is the best thing we can do for now. We can hold them off until then."

Hajikeru wished he was as confident in that statement as he sounded.

"Is it really wise to speak within earshot of your enemy?" spoke up the mist. "You have no hope of escaping this facility."

"You can't stop us!" Thirteen shouted to the mist villain. He then activated his Quirk by removing the cap on his finger tips and it was followed by a strong pull into that lead into his index finger. The mist villain grunted in pain from having parts of his body being sucked in by the immense gravitational pull from the Space Hero's Quirk.

"You're finished."

Thirteen screeched in immense pain as a second mass of black particles appeared behind him, ripping out the back of his Hero outfit and portions of his back. Cutting off his Quirk to prevent further damage, the Space Hero slumped over barely conscious and heavily injured.

"Sensei!" shouted the students.

 _Meanwhile_

 _USJ, Collapsed Zone_

"That about does it," breathed out Eijiro after knocking out the last remaining villain with a hardened fist.

"Pathetic," grunted a surprisingly mellow Katsuki. "These guys should be ashamed to call themselves villains if they go down this easily."

"I'll say," Sherry casually said as she walked through the doorway from another room. "I kinda expected more if I'm being completely honest." She was dragging a villain by the hair and another one by the arms, unceremoniously throwing them both next to the villains the boys just knocked out.

"I gotta admit, Teikiatsu," addressed the hardening redhead. "I had a feeling that you were tough, but I didn't think you would be able to keep up with us."

"Aw, thanks Kirishima! You didn't do too bad yourself!" The sandy blonde started gushing over the off-handed compliment from the redhead, causing said redhead to sweat drop from the unusual change in personality compared to the serious girl they've been fighting with this whole time.

"What the hell kind of expression is that, Swirly Face?!" snapped Katsuki to the gushing blonde.

"Swirly Face?" questioned the blonde with a confused, yet adorable, look. This only seemed to infuriate the pale blond even further.

"Get rid of that piece of shit expression, you damn Air Head!"

"What? You don't like it? How about I rearrange your face to match mine, eh, Bakugo?" As Sherry spoke with a hardened, teasing tone, she raised her arm, now swirling with her Quirk's essence, towards Katsuki. Once the gust of concentrated wind was fired, the pale blond instinctively moved his head to the side. Just before Katsuki was about to fire off an explosion at the sandy blonde's 'friendly fire', the gust shot impacted behind blond and a villain with a chameleon-like appearance fell unconscious after getting hit in the face.

"Wait a minute, where did he—" asked Eijiro before getting cut off by Sherry.

"Yeah, I didn't even know he was there, but let's pretend I did and I'm just that good, okay?" Sherry smirked as she spoke in a victorious tone.

"That's such a stupid way to lose," muttered the explosive blond as he glared at the chameleon villain.

"Does it matter?" asked the sandy blonde as she raised an eyebrow to the other blond. "They're unconscious. They won't be a problem anymore."

"Fair enough," commented the redhead. "Let's meet up with our classmates!"

 _USJ, Main Entrance_

"Space Hero: 'Thirteen'," spoke the mist villain in a condescending tone. "A rescue hero of the highest praise, but completely inadequate in combat."

The remaining students were shocked from the villain's countermeasure against their teacher, but they needed to focus before anything else happened to them.

"Get going, Iida!" urged Rikido.

"Damn it!" hissed an exasperated Tenya as he fired up his Quirk to dash to the entrance. He knew what he was doing was the right thing, but it hurts to leave his classmates to unknown circumstances.

"I will not allow you to leave," spoke the mist villain as his mass of particles lunged towards the speedy teen. He was then intercepted by Mezo, who threw his multiple arms around the villain in an effort to dissipate him.

"Keep moving!" yelled Mezo from the mouth on one of his tentacles.

In nearly no time at all, the mist villain reformed and continued his pursuit of Tenya. "That won't work!"

Around the same time as a loud pop sounded, Hajikeru got in between the speedy teen and the mist villain as they were still dashing to the entrance. On his back was Ochako, reaching up and tapping the metal collar just under the villain's glowing eyes with all the fingers on her hand.

"Guys!" shouted Tenya as he looked behind him.

"Sero! Now!" shouted a scowling Hajikeru.

Almost immediately, a long strip of tape latched onto the villain's metal collar. Following that was when Rikido grabbed the tape and began swinging it around in a spiral in an attempt to get him to fly away from the entrance. Unfortunately, he managed to create a portal with a few mass of particles to cut off a portion of the tape, sending him towards Tenya. However, at the last minute, a strong gust of wind sent him in the opposite direction, courtesy of Hajikeru with a Watermelon 2 Pressure Bubble by the entrance.

It bought them all enough time for Tenya to push open the heavy doors and escape the facility in search of help from the Heroes.

"It's over," muttered the mist villain as he could only watch helplessly at the opened entrance doors of the USJ. "Once that child calls for help, it's over for us." In a similar fashion as the villain's entrance, the mist villain began to swirl clockwise until he completely disappeared.

Near the entrance where Tenya exited the USJ, Hajikeru was panting hard, mostly from mental exhaustion and from tanking one of his Pressure Bubbles point blank. Thankfully, it wasn't like when he did it during the Quirk Assessment Test since his chest piece absorbed most of the hit. Even more thankfully, he didn't squash Ochako against the large, heavy doors when he fired off his attack.

"Where'd he go?" Mina asked as she tended to Thirteen's near unconscious form.

"Anybody see him?" Hanta asked as he looked around the facility with his helmet off.

"He may be in the central square, where they first showed up," deduced Mezo, his Dupli-arms back in the satellite dish shape. "I hear two voices speaking. One is the villain we encountered, but I don't recognize the other one."

"What are they saying?" asked Hajikeru as he and Ochako rejoined the makeshift group. He was mentally exhausted from the brief exchange between them and the mist villain, but he had to remain vigilant for now.

"I can't make it out that well, but I think they're saying… 'We're leaving…'" The multi-armed teen sounded very confused about what he had heard and that sentiment was shared amongst his classmates.

"They're leaving?" Rikido questioned. "That's good, right? They're gonna leave us alone and everyone else will be fine! Right?"

"I don't know. This is very unusual behavior. They said they were here to kill All Might, but he didn't show up. So they should have left the moment they knew he wasn't here."

"So, why didn't they?" asked Hajikeru.

"I'm not—" Mezo's response was cut off with a loud pressure wave swooshing over them, not unlike that of a high powered impact.

"Shouji… what was that?" asked a startled bubble teen as the pressure wave ceased.

"Someone was yelling 'Leave them alone!', and it sounded like Midoriya." This grabbed the attention of everyone around them, but more so in Hajikeru and Ochako.

"Deku's down there?" she asked, nearly mortified that her meek friend was so close to the villains.

"I think he tried to attack one of them, but I don't think it worked. There's another person there with the two, but he isn't speaking. Just… growling."

"Utakata, where are you going?" Hanta asked as he noticed the bubble teen make his way to the stairs that lead to the central square.

"I'm going to help him," the bubble teen replied, eyes completely focused.

"You can't do that!" Rikido berated him. "You're in no position to help them right now! You could be killed!"

"Stay up here if you want, Satou. I'm not asking anyone to come with me. But I just can't sit around and just watch my friends get hurt! I would never be able to live with myself if I just let it happen, knowing I can do something about it!" Just seeing the burning determination in the bubble's teen face convinced them that they wouldn't be able to change his mind. There were those amongst his classmates that thought of him as brave and others that thought of him as stupid.

The bubble teen's bravery wasn't necessary once the large doors of the USJ were busted down from their hinges. And from the smoke, he emerged.

"FEAR NOT STUDENTS…"

Clad in a white dress shirt paired with a yellow tie, yellow dress pants and brown dress shoes, with his signature blond hair and muscular figure…

"FOR I AM HERE."

All Might has arrived to the USJ.

The reactions on the students varied from glee to emotional relief. Their savior has arrived to rescue them.

"I must apologize for my absence, my students," spoke the Number One Hero as he walked towards the stairs that lead to the central square, passing by the students near the entrance. "I had a feeling something was wrong when my calls couldn't get through to Aizawa or Thirteen, but it was all confirmed when I ran into Young Iida on the way here. Rest assured he will arrive shortly with the other teachers in tow! You all must have been so scared during this time. Do not worry. I will handle this."

Kicking off from the top step, All Might flew down the stairs and made a beeline towards Shota, instantaneously knocking out every villain that managed to get in his path. Immediately after that, he dashed towards Tsuyu, Izuku, and Minoru and picked them up as well.

"Did you see that?" Hanta spoke in awe. "He took 'em all down in one shot."

"That was so fast, I couldn't even see it happen," Rikido said in equal awe.

"Amazing," Hajikeru spoke in a mesmerized tone.

As the Number One Hero sent away the three rescued teens with their unconscious and broken homeroom teacher to the entrance, he then engaged the black, muscular villain by throwing a few punches and following that up with an explosive suplex.

"Did he just make an explosion with a suplex?!" Hanta shouted.

"Hey," Ochako said as she spotted the recently rescued students and broken homeroom teacher, waving to gain their attention. "I see Deku and the others! Hey! Over here!"

From his perspective, Hajikeru could barely make out the figure that was draped over Izuku's back, but he could assume it was his injured homeroom teacher. He quickly made his way down the steps to help the trio with their homeroom teacher, slightly stumbling on the last few steps.

"Hey guys!" called the bubble teen to the trio. "Good to see you're alright."

"Same to you, Utakata," Tsuyu replied. "Where have you been?"

"I manage to get out of the mist before it transported me and the others. Have you seen—"

"Utakata," addressed Izuku to the bubble teen, his gaze never leaving All Might. "Take Aizawa-sensei for me. I need to do something."

"Hold on, what do you mean, Midoriya?" questioned Hajikeru before he took Shota's limp body from the meek teen.

Said meek teen then took off in a quick sprint towards the fighting, causing all three teens, as well as several others near the entrance, to shout.

"Midoriya! Tsu, take Aizawa-sensei. I'm going after Midoriya!" The frog teen agreed in a heartbeat, allowing the bubble teen to chase after the meek teen.

As he closed in on the bushy-haired teen, a familiar mass of black particles appeared in front of said teen with the intention of transporting him away. There were too many unknowns with that warping ability, so he couldn't take any chances with it. But he didn't need to do anything to get him away from it, since it was now being taken care of.

"Get the hell outta here, Deku!" shouted Katsuki as he fired off an explosion towards the mist villain. Around the same time, the right side of the muscular villain holding down All Might began to freeze, courtesy of Shoto, and the hand villain dodged a claw strike from Eijiro and a Gust Shot from Sherry. With the muscular villain incapacitated, it allowed the Number One Hero to escape the damaging grip.

"Damn it, I almost had him," berated the redhead.

"Not all that hot now, huh mist bastard?!" sneered Katsuki, allowing a small explosion to explode onto the mist villain's metal collar.

"I heard you lot were here to kill All Might," Shoto spoke in an icy tone, not unlike his Quirk. "I've never heard of anything more ridiculous than that. You can never kill the Symbol of Peace."

With two of the three major players on the villain team incapacitated or captured, one would think they have lost this encounter.

"You've pinned down my escape rope and broken my legendary," hissed the hand villain. "Nomu, get rid of the explosive brat."

They couldn't be any more wrong.

The half-frozen, muscular villain began to move again. In a horrific display of strength, the villain now known as Nomu pulled his body from the warp portal with the frozen side of his body falling to pieces. The screeching noise that emitted from its throat as it happened sent a chilling shiver through the Number One Hero and the Heroes-in-Training.

"Holy shit," Katsuki muttered in a shocked tone.

"How… how is he still moving?" questioned Izuku, horrified over what he was witnessing. "His body is falling apart and he sounds like he's in a lot of pain. Why is he still moving?!"

"Everyone, get back!" ordered All Might, receiving step backs from most of the students. The only one that didn't comply was Katsuki, who of which was still holding the mist villain. "You said his Quirk was Shock Absorption! What is this?!"

"I never said that's all Nomu can do," replied the hand villain. As he spoke, the muscular villain's right side began to regenerate itself as an alarmingly fast rate. After a handful of seconds the entirety of the villain's right side had returned, bones, muscle tissue, even the skin appeared unscathed from the ice attack. "He also has Hyper Regeneration. Paired with Shock Absorption, Nomu is the perfect match for you. Your antithesis, oh Symbol of Peace. Attack, Nomu."

All Might went to intercept the muscular villain in an attempt to keep the explosive blond from being harmed. He succeeded in protecting Katsuki, but took the brunt of the powerful punch. The speed of which it all occurred was completely undetectable by the students.

"What just happened?" Hajikeru asked in confusion and shock, thinking one of his classmates was the victim of that instantaneous attack.

"Kacchan!?" Izuku yelled after seeing his childhood friend appear next to him out of nowhere. "You dodged that?!"

"I didn't, you idiot," mutter out a shocked Katsuki. 'I didn't even see them move.'

"How noble," the hand villain said. "Sacrificing yourself to save another. At least you didn't counterattack Nomu when you did it. Not like that plain brat there." He was pointing at Izuku as he continued to speak. "He came at me with everything he had to save the girl and boy. What kind of heroes do you strive to be, anyway? Ones that cripple a villain for the sake of an innocent? But I suppose extreme violence in the name of heroism is perfectly fine, isn't it? There's hardly a difference between heroes and villains if they're going to these kinds of lengths. Violence begets more violence, Mr. Symbol of Peace. And when I kill you, there will be no more conduit for more violence to occur."

The remaining students couldn't believe their ears over what the villain spoke of. They were aware of the many delusions that a villain could conjure to justify their acts, but they never heard of anything so twisted and sickening. The villain in front of them was practically spitting in the face of all the people that risked their lives to stop people like him.

Unknown to everyone around him, Hajikeru unknowingly let slip several tears from remembering a painful experience. He was thankful for his visor's tinted coating, as he would never let his peers see his tears.

"Be that as it may, I cannot allow you to harm these students," All Might replied. "I've met villains like you before, justifying their evil deeds as people that will save the world in their own ways. But in reality, you're just doing this because you have the power to and you're without restraint. It's a Hero's job to protect the innocent! And to keep them safe from the villains that want to take their peace of mind away!"

"I've heard enough banter today," sneered the hand villain. "Nomu, Kurogiri. Take All Might. I'll handle the brats. Let's clear this level and get the hell out of here."

In tandem, the monstrous Nomu dashed at All Might in an effort to take him down with Kurogiri right behind him, while the still unnamed hand villain ran at the six teenagers with the intention of killing them.

"Here he comes, guys," Eijiro rallied his fellow students, hardening his hands and arms. "Get ready!" The rest of the students readied their Quirks in preparation of the fight to come, with the exception of Izuku who just lifted up his fists.

Fortunately, they only needed to focus on one fight and it wasn't the one where they needed to get involved.

When Nomu's and All Might's fists met up, it was as if all those present were next to the eyewall of a hurricane. The rapid exchange of fists was completely overwhelming not only to the students, but to the villains as well. Kurogiri couldn't get close to All Might as he was fighting Nomu and their rapid movement made creating a portal to them a near impossible feat.

 _Main Entrance_

The group of students that were now outside the USJ main entrance also felt the immense air pressure coming from inside of the building.

"What the hell was that?" asked Hanta as he held up Thirteen by the arm.

"That could be Utakata," Rikido suggested, holding up the Space Hero by the other arm. "His Quirk can make those explosive bubbles."

"Air pressure bubbles," corrected Mezo. "And they don't usually give off air pressure for this long or this powerful. Something else must be happening."

As the other students fired back suggestions as to what is causing the intense wind, Mina and Ochako were looking worryingly at the main entrance of the USJ. Their friends went back to the where the fight was taking place to help All Might instead of helping them with the injured. Now they were in the middle of a fight that's intense enough to create wind forces this strong? They can only hope that they get out of that safe.

 _Central Square (Destruction Zone)_

It was a battle amongst titans. The Number One Hero exchanged fists with an unknown villain that was matching his strength blow by blow at the beginning of the fight. Now the Symbol of Peace was pushing Nomu beyond the rate at which it could regenerate the damage dealt to him.

"NOW FOR A LESSON…"

He saw the villain stagger in pain as it tried to stand up.

"YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THESE WORDS BEFORE…"

Now it was time to finish this fight.

"BUT I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN…"

One mighty blow to send him away.

"GO BEYOND…"

To protect his students!

"PLUS…"

To uphold his position as the Symbol of Peace!

"ULTRAAAAAA!"

The villain known as Nomu shot towards the edge of the USJ's dome wall at a very high speed, leaving behind a sizeable hole where it broke through.

"Holy shit!" yelled out Eijiro as the deafening wind pummeled him and his fellow students into the ground. As it died down, all of the remaining students stood up straight and looked at the resulting hole in the far wall of the domed building in complete amazement. "That was like a finishing move in a video game. I've never seen power like that before."

"He must have been pummeling that brain guy so fast he couldn't regenerate the damage," observed Katsuki.

"So that's what a Pro looks like," spoke a surprised Sherry.

"That's why he's the Number One Hero," Hajikeru spoke with a wide smile.

The resulting smoke and dust from the mighty blow drifted away to give the students a proper view on All Might. His majestic locks were frazzled and messy, his mouth, and by extension his teeth, was bloody, and his clothes were torn. But regardless of the damage dealt to him, he still managed to give his assuring smile to his students.

"Back in my prime, a mere five punches was enough to send him flying," All Might said, not speaking to anyone in particular. "But in the end it took over 300 mighty blows to take him down. Yep, definitely getting old." He then gave his attention to the remaining hand villain and mist villain as he began to emit smoke. "Well? Shall we finish this?"

"No…" sneered the hand villain. "Noo, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooo. You shouldn't be able to do that. You should be slowing down! You should be weak! Why are you still this strong! They lied to me!"

"Aren't you going to finish this level and go home? If you believe that, then come at me!" All Might spoke with authority, causing the villains to flinch back.

"He's got this," Shoto plainly said. "We should go. We're not ready for something this difficult."

"Yeah, let the Pro handle this," Sherry exhaled as she heard the hand villain break down.

"It's best if we hang back," Eijiro suggested. "Jump in the middle of all that, we could get taken hostage or worse."

Unknown to them, the only one who knew the truth about All Might was looking on in worry.

"Well? What's keeping you?! I'm right here!" announced the Number One Hero.

"Where the hell is Nomu?!" asked the hand villain in a delusional voice as he scratched at his throat. "He should be killing All Might! He was our means of killing him! Where the fuck is he?!"

"Tomura Shigaraki," stated Kurogiri. "Calm yourself. Look at him. Though he is still standing, it should be apparent that Nomu did deal a large sum of damage to him. The children are heading back and the school's reinforcements are due to arrive in a few minutes. If we both attack him, we still have a chance."

The hand villain, now known as Tomura Shigaraki, ceased his maddening throat scratching in realization. "You're right… The final boss is right there and he has 1 HP left. One strike is all we need."

The villains began their final assault with Kurogiri expanding his mist-like body as he dashed towards All Might with Tomura directly to his left. The Number One Hero braced himself for his impending defeat at their hands.

That is until Izuku jumped right at the mist villain at speed that resembled a certain Number One Hero.

"You leave All Might alone!"

"Midoriya?!" shouted Eijiro once he noticed the absence of the meek teen.

"What the hell did he just do?!" asked a shocked Hajikeru.

The remaining students could only watch helplessly as their classmate was about to be killed by his recklessness.

That is until a gunshot sounded from the entrance of the USJ and impacted the disintegration user's hand. That could only mean…

"They're here!" declared All Might.

With the arrival of the other Pro Heroes, the villains decided to call it quits and escape. They would have escaped with the worst injury being a bullet embedded in one of Tomura's hands, but the Hero that shot him decided to give him a parting gift in the form of at least 10 bullets in his shoulders, legs, and arms. As the mist villain was transporting them away with his portal, the black particles were being forcefully drawn into the now open fingers of the conscious Space Hero. Unfortunately, it did little to actually stop them from escaping.

"Just you wait, All Might…" addressed Tomura to All Might. "I may have failed this time. But I assured you, I will kill you the next time we meet." And with that, the main threat of the attack on the USJ is gone.

For now.

 _Later that Night_

 _Hoth District_

The students were given the next day off to recuperate from the unexpected attack on the USJ, making it a three day weekend. As expected the media jumped on the story of a secure facility being invaded by villains on the first week of class at the most prestigious Hero School in Japan. The students, however, didn't give it any attention to it, as they were very much unnerved by the villain invasion. They experienced firsthand the dangers that this occupation contains. Within a heartbeat, their lives could be on the line and they could lose it if they're not careful. It was a humbling experience, but they could only grow from it. They couldn't allow themselves to feel the same feeling of dread whenever something unexpected happens. They were becoming heroes. They needed composure and confidence to face the trials ahead. They would only get harder from here on out.

After getting home with Denryoku, Hajikeru found his mother and his pseudo aunt rushing to check on his person to see if he had any injuries. They had received a call from U.A. when they were at work, informing them there was a villain invasion and that the students were alright. The look of relief on their faces when they saw Hajikeru almost made said bubble teen almost break down and apologize for worrying them. He was just happy to be home.

Later that night, Hajikeru couldn't seem to find the will to sleep. He was exhausted both physically and mentally, but sleep just can't seem to claim him. He found staring at the ceiling and later the wall completely boring, but it wasn't even close to enough to knock him out. Slowly moving from his bed to keep the noise level low, he booted up his computer to get some late night gaming in. He didn't have to worry about a loud noise from the fans, but he did need to switch to an adaptive controller to avoid the loud clicks from the keyboard and mouse. Once it booted up, he selected a simple game of "Block Breaker" from the list of games in his library after plugging in his headphones. As soon as it got to the Main Menu, he selected "Zen Mode". He wasn't looking to break a high score, just something to occupy his mind.

What happened at the USJ really shook him up. The sudden appearance of the mass of villains, the mist villain's appearance, the scattering of his classmates, getting Tenya out of the facility, witnessing the damage done to both of his teachers, the hand villain's twisted ideology, All Might's fight with the muscular, brain villain, the arrival of the other Pro Heroes, Izuku's reckless attempt to help All Might…

Speaking of Izuku, the bubble teen went with Tenya and Ochako to see if he was alright. When Recovery Girl came out from between two officers guarding the office, she told them that he would be fine. The two were willing to stick around until he healed enough to walk, but Hajikeru needed to go home. When he left the classroom after putting away his Hero costume, he found Denryoku waiting outside Class 1-A and staring at nothing in particular. When he noticed the bubble teen, Denryoku simply tilted his head briefly, indicating that they needed to get home. They didn't say much, but he appreciated the calming silence his stoic friend gave off. His best friend knew prying about such an event as this would be counterproductive in getting everything right again.

He then jumped at a pinging sound that came from his headphones. He looked at the notifications tab at the bottom right of the screen and found he had one game request from another player. He used the controller's D-Pad to select the invitation to see who it was from.

 _New Game Request_

 _BoostThunder82 wants to play:_

 _Block Breaker_

'That's Denryo's username,' observed the confused bubble teen. His best friend was asleep, wasn't he? He turned around to confirm his thoughts, only to be disproved when he found the electro-teen on his own computer with his own headphones. He then heard another ping from his headphones and once again checked the notifications tab to find a short message.

 _BoostThunder82: I'm not going to pry, but I know you've been through some things. I'm just glad you're ok. Now, what's it gonna be? Co-op or Versus?_

Despite the quiet and nonchalant vibe he gives off, Denryoku is very observant and caring of the people he cares about. He just doesn't want people knowing he's like this without actively wanting to know more about him. With a smirk, the bubble teen accepted the invitation and typed a quick message to his best friend.

 _BubbleM4STER: Thanks man. I'll tell you about it soon enough. And Versus. Get ready to get owned!_

 **And that about does it for the first major arc... Honestly, this was shorter than I expected it to be. I'm usually more detailed with stuff like this. I mean, besides the first chapter, this is probably the shortest chapter in this story. Also, does this feel rushed? Because it feels rushed to me, especially towards the end of the USJ part. BUT, I'm gonna have a lot more fun in the Sports Festival Arc. I have several ideas that I want to implement. Lo the Hype!**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 4/14/19**

 **Honestly, I consciously refused to edit this chapter simply for the sole reason that it's a weak and non inspiring chapter compared to what I do later on. I mean, yes, the Team Exercise and what went on in the cafeteria wasn't really original, but I at least tried to make it seem different.**

 **Anyway, I cleaned up some bits of dialogue and some interactions between Eijiro, Katsuki, and Sherry, even if it's not the best, and I got rid of Hajikeru's outburst towards Handsy McGoonerson and replaced it with a hint at his past that I thought of much later on in the story. Need a hint? It has to do with an important Hero in his past that isn't Fatgum. And that's all you're gonna get!**

 **That's all from me. PEACE!)**


	6. The UA Sports Festival: Obstacles

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

It was the Monday back from the extended weekend break and all of the students in Class 1-A are in high spirits. There was chatter amongst the more talkative students, while some of them were showing their self designated group some things they've discovered over the weekend. Though there was more talk amongst them regarding the USJ Incident, as the media were calling it.

It was their first encounter with villains and they were understandably shaken up by the experience. After all, it was completely unexpected and most of them were mentally ill prepared to for such an encounter. But in the end, almost all of them managed to make it out of there unscathed. They used the experiences they accumulated over the years and utilized them to receive the best possible outcome. But they weren't going to be that fortunate later on. That was why, despite everyone acting as they were in the first few days, there was a subtle undertone of seriousness with how most of the students acted.

Classes went about as well as the first week with their fourth period ending as lunch began. Normally, everyone would go on to lunch and have a boring or good time. This time, however…

"I'm super pumped for this!" Eijiro exclaimed. "This is going to awesome!"

"This is going to be our time to show our stuff!" Hanta loudly stated with equal vigor.

"They seemed to be extra lively today," Hajikeru said as he adjusted his tie. He was off to the side of the classroom talking to Mezo about nothing in particular when he heard the louder of his class shout their excitement.

"Indeed, though it is expected with the Sports Festival coming up," Mezo replied as he sat on his desk.

"Guys!" Tooru called, gaining the boy's attention in the process. "I need your help with something important!"

"What's up, Hagakure?" the bubble teem asked the sentient school uniform, looking slightly above her necktie. He learned early on to look above the neck of whatever his invisible friend was wearing, since she didn't have a visible head to look at. Besides, it was excruciatingly awkward for him to look at her more… prominent features when she was speaking to him.

"I need a way to stand out during the Sports Festival! Everyone is going to show off their Quirk and I want to find a way to show mine's is super cool too!"

The two larger teens could only wonder how their invisible friend could actually stand out. Even thinking of that sentence seemed like a contradiction in of itself. Save for Mashirao, Tooru was the only one with a non-astounding Quirk and there wasn't much that could be done at face value. Still, she was asking for help, so who were they to deny her.

Before any of the boys could suggest anything, the trio felt a disturbing shift in atmosphere. They turned to the back of the classroom to see Ochako emitting an uncharacteristically dark aura from her person.

"Uraraka, what happened to your face?" Izuku asked, a bit disturbed by this normally cheerful friend's shift in character while Tenya looked in stony confusion.

"Uh… guys? What's up with Uraraka?" Hajikeru questioned in equal surprise, with a hint of fear."She's normally more cheerful than this. And less scary."

"Seriously? What's up?" popped in Mina from beside Tsuyu. "She's usually the most laid back girl ever!"

"It could be that time of the mo—" Minoru suggestion was interrupted by a tongue slapping him across the face, courtesy of Tsuyu.

"That is so not cool, Mineta!" Tooru shouted at the dazed grape teen.

"Everyone! I'm gonna crush the competition!" the gravity girl shouted to the remainder of the class, posing with her stance wide and one of her fists in the air.

"Awesome," Eijiro slowly and awkwardly responded, mimicking his classmate's fist in the air along with Hanta, Izuku, Tenya, Hajikeru, Tsuyu, Tooru, Mina, and Rikido. "You doing okay? You look like you're losing it right now."

"Nothing to it! I'm just very excited for the Sports Festival!" Some of the students were taken aback by the additional intensity in her voice.

"That would be enough, Uraraka," commanded Tenya. "It is well passed the start of our designated Lunch Period, so I suggest getting something to fill our stomachs!"

"I'm with you on that one!" agreed the bubble teen as he picked up his wrapped bento box. "You gonna eat with us today, Shouji?"

"Depends on where we're eating," Mezo answered in a straight manner as he gathered his own lunch from his desk.

"I dunno. Hey guys, where are you eating today?"

"Well, since we got out of class late, we'll probably be eating on the roof after we get our food," Izuku responded with Ochako and Tenya agreeing.

"Then I will be joining you today, Utakata," Mezo responded.

"Awesome! See you on the roof, guys," spoke Hajikeru to the trio as the bouncy invisible girl and multi-armed teen followed him to the roof of the school building.

 _Later_

 _School Rooftop_

"Okay, how about this? You can make a cheer and you end it with an adorable pose."

"Hm… I like it, but I don't think it's not enough for me to stand out."

"It needs more flare to it if your goal is to have her stand out."

"Yeah, yeah I know, Denryo. Don't state the obvious."

For the past 10 minutes, both the bubble teen and the invisible girl were pitching ideas to make her stand out in the Sports Festival. Denryoku arrived shortly before Hajikeru pitched the idea for a cheer to Tooru. Mezo was quietly observing the group of friends from an outsider perspective, having yet to open his bento box. They had asked Mina to join them on the roof, but she decided to have lunch with other students to get to know them better. They were fine with it since they have gotten to know her enough to deduce she was a social bee, meaning she liked getting to know many different people.

"But that guy has a point ya know," pointed out Tooru. "There needs to be more dazzle! More KA-POW! Something that will make me shine!"

"That guy?" Denryoku asked in confusion, turning his head to his best friend. The bubble teen had his eyebrows scrunched, either indicating he was equally confused as to why his invisible friend called Denryoku 'that guy' or he was thinking of another way for her to stand out. Then his eyes widen in realization.

"Oh yeah, you didn't introduce yourself to these two, huh man?" Hajikeru asked in surprise as he pointed to his two friends, receiving a subtle, irritated look in return. "Right then. Shouji, Hagakure, Denryoku Emera. Known the guy since early grade school."

"Oooooh, so that's what your name is," responded Tooru in clarity. "I'm Tooru Hagakure! Nice to meet ya!"

"Mezo Shouji," Mezo said, finally opening his lunch.

"Awesome, now we know each other!" Hajikeru excitedly spoke. "Now back to the Hagakure dilemma!"

"AW, stop it Utakata!" squealed the invisible teen as her uniform swooned. "I didn't know I was so important to you!"

"Lady Killer," muttered the electro-teen, succeeding in getting the bubble teen to blush.

"That's not it!" Hajikeru shouted in denial. Even with his reddening face he still kept it straight enough to speak without sputtering. "I just want to help her with this. I mean, if you think about it, it can't be easy to stand out when you're literally invisible, right?"

"Well, you're kinda right," admitted the invisible teen. "When my Quirk manifested, it was such a stand out from the rest of the kids at pre-school that they couldn't help but be impressed. But as time went on, it just became like any other Quirk. I guess you can say it got boring to look at." This drew some attention from the other three students. "But I still want to be a great Hero. And to do that, I need to be able to stand out in the Sports Festival!"

Throughout the brief explanation, both Hajikeru and Denryoku noticed something in her voice as she spoke about her time in school. She seemed hasty in getting through her explanation with how short it was and there wasn't really anything of note. But it wasn't their place to ask about it any further. Not yet, at least.

At this time, Tenya and Ochako made their way to the group of four after arriving to the empty roof with food in hand.

"Afternoon, fellow students!" Tenya announced. "I apologize for being late. It appears our time loitering in the classroom seemed to have affected the amount of time we had to spend in the Mess Hall's lines."

"It's cool," casually responded Hajikeru. He then noticed the usual trio cut down to a duo. "Midoriya's not with you?"

"Oh, All Might-sensei invited Deku to the teacher's lounge and he's been there ever since," Ochako responded, already indulging in her rice bowl.

"He did?" the electro-teen questioned. "Do you think he asked him there to thank him for what he did at the USJ?" This gained the attention of the present Class 1-A students, save for one.

""How did you know about what specifically happened at the USJ?"" interrupted Mezo, breaking his long silence.

Denryoku pointed to the bubble teen next to him. "This guy tells me everything. It's kinda hard not to know about what goes on in our lives."

"It's true," replied Hajikeru. "Did you know Denryo got hit on at least 20 times since we started school?"

"Half of them were from upper classmen, oddly enough."

"Huh… But then why do you call Utakata 'Lady Killer' if you're the one that's getting more attention?" asked Ochako before she took a swig from her water bottle.

"Because he's the one that gets along with people in general more easily, but I poke fun at him when it comes to girls. He's got the personality to keep them around while I got the looks to draw them in. It's like we were one person initially, but someone used a Quirk to split our person at birth." The large bubble nodded to that.

"Yeah and someone cursed me with a toon-face some time after my birth," added Hajikeru offhandedly.

"I don't think using the word 'curse' is appropriate for what you're describing, Utakata," spoke up Shouji with a bit of conviction in his voice, gaining his fellow classmate's attention. Though to the bubble teen, he thought he heard a little bite in his multi-armed friend's rebuttal. "I'm aware that you only intend it as humor, but I must ask you to refrain from using such terminology to describe your outward appearance. It's not a healthy habit to pick up."

'He must have experienced that sort of thing himself if he's calling me out on it,' thought the bubble teen. He also concluded it's the reason why Mezo constantly wore a mask the entire time he's known him, even though it was only a week at most. Of course this was all based on assumption and he had nothing concrete. He should probably ask about it another time. "Yeah, you're right, Shouji. I won't use that kind of wording to describe myself."

"Good," replied the multi-armed teen. He then did something that the other students didn't expect. He pulled down his face mask to give himself access to his mouth, showing the rest of his face to the few students there. It was expected that his face was elongated since his facemask only outlined his most basic features, but they didn't expect his mouth to be so… normal. Save for the jagged teeth, it looked exactly like the mouth he makes at the ends of his extra arms. "Self image is important for building a confident Hero."

"Words well said, Shouji!" agreed Tenya as he took another spoonful of his curry.

"Oh, right. Before I forget, Hagakure." This got the invisible girl's attention from her salad. "Have you considered using the glow you did during the training exercise as a means of standing out?"

"The what?" asked a very confused sounding Tooru, Hajikeru, and Ochako. Being the outlier in the group, Denryoku could only raise one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"During our first training exercise with All Might last week, Hagakure had a glowing aura around her before she made one of the monitors turn completely white. Perhaps you can use that as a means to stand out from everyone else while obtaining another useful skill."

"Oh yeah," remembered the invisible girl. "All Might sensei called me out on it, but I thought it was a joke!"

"I can assure you it was not a joke, Hagakure," Tenya shuddered from recalling the moment he felt the effects of the invisible girl's glow point blank. "When you made that play on words you began to irradiate I felt my heart squeeze on instinct, though I don't know why. I might have passed out if I didn't have the excuse to clear the room of debris for when Utakata and Uraraka arrived."

"Really, Iida?" Hajikeru questioned in doubt. "Hagakure almost made you pass out with a joke that was followed by a bright light?" He then turned to his invisible friend with clear curiosity. "Is that even a thing?"

"I mean…" Tooru hesitated. "It is, but…"

"You don't sound so sure," plainly stated Denryoku.

"I've had people tell me that a few times over my entire life, but I thought they were talking about how cute I was when I said or did something. I never took them seriously, though. You know, because I'm invisible."

"Can you bring it out again? I want to see it for myself!" excitedly asked the gravity girl.

"I… I don't really know how." The invisible girl answered in a quiet tone, very unlike her usual bounciness. "Every time I was told that I did something like that, I don't really remember the feeling of doing it. I never paid any mind to it because it just sounds unbelievable. I'm sorry, Uraraka. But I can't bring it out without knowing how to do it." Seeing how uncharacteristically reserve she sounded, the bubble teen decided then and there to help fulfill her request.

"Then we'll just have to find out before the Sports Festival, right?" brightly answered Hajikeru. This question seemed to have done the trick in revitalizing the invisible teen's tone.

"Yeah! I'm going to learn how to do the shine thing and then I'm going to stand out in the Sports Festival! Thanks, Utakata. I needed that." The invisible girl received a wide open mouth smile in return from the bubble teen.

"If I may, I would like to assist in helping Hagakure in achieving this 'Hagakure brightness'," offered Tenya, not at all aware of the weird looks he was getting for the odd name. "I'm a bit curious as to how this can be achieved."

"Ooooo, I want to help too!" Ochako joined in.

"I'm not sure what help I can be of, but I would like to help as well," asked Mezo, having donned his facemask once again.

"And Denryo will help too!" Hajikeru proudly stated.

"Can I ask why?" asked the deadpanned electro-teen.

"You're better at analyzing and deducing a person's kinks and inner workings than me."

"Hm… Fair point. Count me in."

"Thanks guys!" excitedly spoke Tooru. "This is going to be so much fun!"

 _End of Classes_

 _Class 1-A_

"So you're trying to figure out how to activate a part of Hagakure's Quirk and you need my help with it?" Izuku asked in surprise, not expecting such a request from the bubble teen.

"Yeah," sheepishly responded Hajikeru. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to peek over your shoulder, but I saw your notes on Kamui Woods and I thought you would be a big help on helping us figure this out!"

"Um… Sure Utakata! I'd be happy to help Hagakure," agreed the meek teen as he mounted his backpack.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I promise I'll make this up to you somehow!" replied the bubble teen as he mirrored his friend, said friend denying any kind of repercussions.

"It's great to hear you are willing to help us, Midoriya!" adamantly shouted Tenya from behind the two. "We will be meeting on the roof during lunch starting tomorrow!"

"Holy crap! Why are there so many people outside?!" Ochako comically shouted after she opened the large doors from the classroom to the hallway. What was waiting outside was an entire sea of students from various classes throughout the first years. When they had heard that one of their first year classes had encountered villains after a few days of school, their curiosity had gotten the better of them and they couldn't resist seeing who they were.

"What could they want with us?!" shouted a nervous Minoru.

"What are you, stupid?" verbally jabbed Katsuki. "They're probably here to scout potential threats for the Sports Festival. That's an extra's thinking if I've ever seen it." The explosive teen then approached the doorway to see the mob himself, ignoring the gravity girl jumping back into the safety of the classroom. "Move, extras. You're in my way."

"Do not refer the other students as 'extras'!" scolded Tenya. "You don't even know them!"

"Like it matters if I know them or not, Glasses!"

"I suspected the students in Class 1-A were pretentious in the way they carried themselves," spoke a voice that rivaled the Class 1-A homeroom teacher's level of tiredness from the crowd. "But you just sound like an asshole with a motor mouth." A student with wild, purple hair emerged from the crowd, his eyes implying he has sleep problems. "Tell me. Are all the students here as disillusioned as you?"

The students within view of the doorway, consisting of Tenya, Izuku, and Ochako, frantically shook their heads in disapproval.

From the side of the doorway, Hajikeru cheerily popped out and pointed to the explosive teen. "Nope, just this guy! Though I don't think 'disillusioned' is the proper term for him. I think 'one-tracked' is more accurate!"

"Fuck off, Pink Eye!" roared Katsuki to the bubble teen.

"Perhaps you're right," suggested the purple-haired teen, gaining the two boys' attention. "But it won't matter in the end. Here's the thing. It's true we've come to scout the students that survived the USJ attack, but I've come with a mission in mind." The glare on the explosive teen intensified, while the bubble teen frowned with his eyebrows scrunched together. "Because of the limited spaces in the Hero Course, those that did not pass the Entrance Exam, but still held promise, were put into the General Ed. Course, meant for civilian work and the like. However, there's a secondary purpose to the Sports Festival. If those in the General Ed. Course manage to impress the judges or produce impressive results, they would be under consideration to be put in the Hero Course."

"Yeah, so what?"

"It means, in the simplest of terms, dumbass, one of us goes into the Hero Course and one of you will be kicked out of the Hero Course."

The remaining students of Class 1-A can very much feel the frost coming from the purple-haired teen's words and with it, a hefty amount of anxiety as they thought back to the purpose of the Quirk Assessment Test.

 _'The one in last place after these tests are over is considered 'hopeless', meaning they have zero potential of being a hero.'_

 _'It was all a logical ruse to get your peak performance out of you.'_

Only this time, the fear of losing their spot in the Hero Course is very much real.

"As a General Ed. student, the Sports Festival is the perfect opportunity to blow you lot off of your grand pedestals. Scoping out the competition is good and all, but I'm here with a declaration of war, Class 1-A. Bring me everything you have, and I'll be sure to crush every opportunity to dust."

'This guy doesn't mess around,' Hajikeru thought, intensely looking at the teen that intentionally picked a fight with his classmates.

"HEY YOU!" shouted a teen with silver hair and thin, eggshell white growths from around his eyes. "I'M FROM CLASS 1-B! I HEARD YOU GUYS FOUGHT SOME VILLAINS! I WANTED TO SEE WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU GUYS, BUT ALL I CAN SEE IS THIS ARROGANT PRICK! DON'T YOU DARE MAKE US LOOK BAD AT THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"

"That's enough, Tetsutetsu," a familiar voice spoke from within the crowd. "Calm down before you embarrass yourself."

"I'M ONLY SENDING A MESSAGE, VICE REP!"

"OH SHUT UP, YOU EXTRAS!" roared the explosive teen, causing many students to flinch.

"Dude, stop antagonizing them!" Eijiro shouted from behind Katsuki. "Are you trying to make our class a bigger target!? Our time in the Sports Festival is going to be much harder because if you!"

"You shut up, Hair-for-Brains! It doesn't matter if I have the whole school on my ass. I'm still gunning for the top, and I don't give a shit about how many people I got to beat to get there."

Katsuki spoke with enough bite in his conviction to actually get some of the gathered students to back up in intimidation, as well as bring realization to his fellow classmates. The upcoming Sports Festival was meant to be a test of their skills and their conviction to their work and dreams. Anything less than their all would be considered an insult to what they were working for.

"Damn it, man! That's so manly," admitted the spiky redhead.

"A conviction we all need to follow, I suppose," Fumikage concluded.

"I mean, Mr. Blond-and-Volatile has a point," spoke up Sherry, completely ignoring the growl coming from the explosive teen at the nickname.

"Are you guys suicidal or something?!" Denki asked in fear of the mob of students. "There are hundreds of students in our first year class alone! How the heck are we going to face that many people with our little class?!"

"You know what?" started the explosive teen with a devilish grin. "Since you came all this way to declare war on us, how about I return the favor, you zombie looking fuck." This succeeded in gaining the purple-haired teen's attention. "You declare war on us, I declare war on every single extra in the first years. Try and take me down if you can, you pathetic shitbags." To add insult upon further insult, he then proceeded to shove his way through the sea of people with the silver haired teen from Class 1-B still yelling at him.

'Oh crap… We're all targets now, aren't we?' collectively thought most of the Class 1-A students.

 _2 Weeks Later_

 _U.A. Coliseum_

After the declaration of war by one purple haired teen and one Katsuki Bakugo, it was clear to everyone in Class 1-A that they were high priority targets now. What was previously called just another school activity was now a stage and a chopping block to show off their skills and their conviction to their goals. For some, it was the perfect opportunity to show the world their potential of becoming a Hero, those consisting of the absurdly versatile and adaptive. For others, it was going to be a fight for survival to keep their spot in the Hero Course, those including the unconventional or poorly utilized Quirks. Those that fall under the second category needed to show that they deserved to be there and for those that actually cared about it needed to drive themselves to the ground to prove themselves worthy.

Now, it was time for the Sports Festival. It was time to show the world what they, as potential heroes, can do against their fellow peers.

 _Class 1-A Prep Room_

"Alright, everyone!" shouted Tenya. "Is everyone ready to go?! We're on in a few minutes! Be sure you are prepared for what's to come!"

"Omigosh!" squeaked Tooru. "I'm really, really nervous about this!"

"Don't worry, Hagakure," comforted Hajikeru from beside her. "You got this. And no doubt you're gonna stand out, out there." From the slight movement of the sentient PE uniform, the bubble teen seemed to have calmed the invisible girl's nerves, albeit slightly.

"You've made good progress in your goal, Hagakure," Mezo spoke from behind the two teens, making sure his wording didn't give away anything big to his fellow classmates. "Just remember the positive thinking exercises we asked you to practice. You'll be fine."

"Thanks guys." Tooru expressed her gratitude by giving a thumbs-up from her gloved hands to the large teens.

"I really wish I could wear my Hero outfit!" complained Mina from behind the trio. "I would've wowed so many people today!"

"I guess we're gonna have to wow them with our skills then, huh Ashido?" Sherry asked as she was doing the splits while stretching out her arms. This obviously caught most of her classmate's attention, with different reactions. Some were impressed by the feat, others were slightly jealous from how easy she made it look, and two of them were looking one lecherous gazes, though one wickedly sweet glare in their direction was enough to detour them from continuing.

"Midoriya," loudly spoke the flat voice of one Shoto Todoroki, grabbing the attention of the rest of the students.

"Oh uh… Hey, Todoroki," stuttered out Izuku. "What is it?"

"Let me get straight to the point. From an objective perspective, I'm much stronger than you." The meek teen shakily got out an agreement to the statement before the half-white, half-redhead continued. "But you somehow managed to catch the eyes of the Number One Hero. I won't ask how you manage to do that, but just know… I will defeat you."

'So Todoroki is gunning after Midoriya because he caught All Might's attention?' pondered Hajikeru as he tried to digest the new development. 'I guess being Endeavour's son means you naturally hold a grudge against the Number One Hero.'

"Seriously?" commented Denki as he held a USB plug in his mouth to charge his phone. "Another declaration of war? And right before the Sports Festival begins? I can't handle this."

"Shut it, Electro-Dolt," muttered Katsuki.

"C'mon man," interjected Eijiro as he stood between the two. "Why you got to pick a fight right before the Sports Festival? We're up next!"

"I don't care," replied Shoto. "I'm not pretending to be anyone's friend here and I certainly will not treat anyone here as such."

"Todoroki," addressed Izuku to Shoto. "I'm not sure why you decided to tell me that you will beat me. You've shown that you're stronger than almost everyone here…" This incited a growl from the explosive teen. "And I'm not as skilled with my own Quirk as everyone else here, even objectively speaking."

"Hey c'mon man, don't put yourself down so much," the hardening teen attempted to comfort his bushy haired classmate.

'Though Midoriya isn't wrong when it comes to his Quirk control,' thought the bubble teen as he thought back to the times he damaged his limbs after using his Quirk.

"That being said," continued Izuku. "Every single one of the first years are aiming for the top, so why should I be any different? I'm going for it with everything I've got!" He finished off his statement with a look to match the burning intensity in his belly.

"Fine," replied Shoto after a brief moment of silence.

"Everyone!" Tenya shouted from the doorway. "We're on! Let's go!"

"Well, guys," spoke Hajikeru has he stood up with a determined look. "Let's show the world what Class 1-A can do, shall we?"

"Pfffft, that's kinda lame, Utakata," sputtered out Tooru.

"Seriously, Hagakure?!"

 _Battle Arena, U.A. Coliseum_

" **WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAAAAAAAAL!** " shouted the school announcer and radio host, Present Mic. The stadium roared with a deafening combination of yells from the thousands of spectators in the stands. " **NOW THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR! WE HAVE A PROMISING BATCH FROM OUR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS THIS YEAR. THEY'VE BEEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT FROM THE VILLAIN ATTACK FROM THE USJ INCIDENT A FEW WEEKS BACK AND SURVIVED WITH WILLPOWER TO MAKE A SUVIVALIST JEALOUS! WELCOME, FROM THE HERO COURSE, ITS CLASS 1-A!**

The students from said class walked onto the field with a posture of confidence… Up until several of them saw how many people were in the stands.

"Wooah," breathed out Izuku with wide, nervous eyes. "So many people…"

"Crap… I forgot how many people actually attended this thing," Hajikeru muttered out.

"And we're expected to give all of them a good show," Sherry said as she eyed the massive crowd with a small grin.

"Anyone else thinks Present Mic just reminded everyone that we're prime targets?" asked a chattering Denki.

" **FOLLOWING THEM UP, WHILE GETTING LESS ACTION THAN THEIR SISTER CLASS BUT STILL A BUNCH YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR, ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE: GIVE IT UP FOR CLASS 1-B!** "

It was then the students from Class 1-B made their way onto the field and placed themselves right next to Class 1-A.

" **FOLLOWING THE HERIOCS COURSE ARE CLASSES 1-C, 1-D, AND 1-E, BETTER KNOWN AS THE GENERAL STUDIES COURSE! AND NOT FAR BEHIND THEM ARE THE SUPPORT COURSE, CLASSES 1-F, 1-G, AND 1-H! AND TO FINISH OFF OUR FIRST YEAR ROSTER IS THE BUSINESS COURSE, CLASSES 1-I, 1-J, AND 1-K! LET'S HEAR IT FOR OUR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS!"**

While it was nothing more than announcing the classes as they came out, the students outside of the Hero Course didn't see it as anything other than making Classes 1-A and 1-B look better.

Making their way to the stage near the middle of the field, the First Year students noticed a woman with a white, skintight body suit with a black, leather piece with red studs that accentuated her breasts, black, knee-length high heels, and purple, thigh-high stockings that were connected by a garter belt to a low rise utility belt. With a sensual flare and total knockout among the Sexiest Heroes List, she is the R-rated Hero: "Midnight."

"The class representative will now give the opening pledge," announced Midnight to the students and audience, causing many of the heroes to blush in arousal or embarrassment, in the case of most of the students. "Will Katsuki Bakugo please come up?"

That question seemed to have drawn some looks from most of the students, but those in Class 1-A seemed to be mortified.

"It's Kacchan?!" Izuku shouted in surprise.

"Yeah, what's up with that!?" Denki asked in shock.

"It could be because he took first place in the Entrance Exam," suggested Kyoka. "Otherwise, I don't think anyone who knows him would have chosen him." She received several nods in agreement as a response.

As Katsuki lightly stomped his way to the stage to give the opening pledge, many of the students in the General Ed. Courses were quietly trash talking those in the Heroics Course. Even though this was an event meant to bring the students together, it seemed to highlight the differing opinions between those in the Heroics Course and those in the General Ed. Course. The U.A. Entrance Exams has a slight biased to applicants with more combat oriented Quirks, while those with useful Quirks but less combat oriented are left to the General Ed. Course. It made them feel like they weren't good enough to be heroes despite being accepted into U.A. and it wasn't going to be resolved over an event such as this.

The explosive teen stood in front of the mounted microphone as soon as he finished climbing the stairs to the stage, a bored expression clear on his face. "I just want to say…"

'Please don't say anything that will piss them off, please don't say anything that will piss them off, PLEASE don't say anything that will piss them off!' collectively begged the Class 1-A students.

"I'm gonna beat everyone."

'Damn it, he pissed them off!'

"What did he say?!"

"You cocky 1-A bastards!"

"Get off the stage!"

"Damn it, Bakugo!" angrily shouted Hajikeru with his rectangular iris and pupils reduced to pink slits. "Why did you have to piss them off?! We're already big enough targets as is!"

"Why would you be so disrespectful!? You're representing us all!" shouted a frustrated Tenya after the bubble teen was finished.

"What he said too!"

"Not my fault you're all stepping stones to my victory," calmly shot back Katsuki with a thumbs down motion.

"I'M GONNA CRUSH THAT OVERCONFIDENT ASSHOLE!" shouted a familiar silver-haired teen. "JUST YOU WAIT!"

"You're being too loud again, Tetsutetsu," Denryoku plainly said from behind the silver-haired teen.

"LET ME HAVE THIS, VICE REP!"

"Settle down!" yelled Midnight as she cracked her whip, immediately silencing the rowdy students. "Now then, let's get the first event rolling! This will be the Qualifier Round! Only 48 of you will be able to continue onto the rest of the Sports Festival, so you better be prepared to do anything for those spots!" The large monitor behind her began to spin through the potential events that the students will have to participate in. "And this year's first event is…"

The digital roulette stopped at an image with several stick figures in a running position.

"The Obstacle Course!"

The announcement of the first event was followed by a loud roar from the audience.

"Here's the rundown of the first event! Every student between all 11 classes is going to be facing each other in a four kilometer lap around the stadium. The only rules you need to know for this event are remain within the course area and do not cause any kind of serious harm to your fellow classmates. Anything other than that is fair game. Now take your positions at the stadium gate!"

A large steel barrier made of several interlocking blocks began to shift with a mechanical hum. Within seconds, the steel barrier was reduced to a gate supporting the arc containing the horizontal stoplight.

'This is it…' thought the bubble teen with a determined smile. 'Time I showed the world where hard work and a little creativity will get you.'

'I am ready for this,' Tenya thought. 'Tensei will be watching, so I can't let him down.'

'For my parents and their well being,' thought a determined Ochako.

*BLOOP*

A flash of green came to life in one of the three lights.

'This will be my first step to prove myself as a morally just hero,' thought Denryoku.

'I need to shine if I want to get anywhere as a hero,' Tooru thought.

*BLOOP*

Another green light appeared.

'This is my chance to prove myself,' internally spoke Sherry. 'Prove that I'm better than him.'

'I still can't use One-for-All without blowing out my limbs,' determinedly thought Izuku. 'But I won't let it hold me back.'

*BLOOP*

"STAAAAAAART!"

It was absolute chaos as soon as the single word left Midnight's lips.

With the start of the Obstacle Course came the full force of every student within the first year class. There was only one way to go to advance to the next event, and the first hurdle was the narrow hallway that could hardly fit 15 students shoulder to shoulder, let alone 200+ students at once.

 **"AND THE START OF THE FIRST EVENT HAS BEGUN!"** shouted Present Mic while throwing wild gestures. **"Here with me to help give the play by play is our own local mummy-man, Shota Aizawa! What's good, bro?!"**

 **"You dragged me up here,"** droned a muffled Shota from under his bandages.

 **"Semantics. So what do you think of the first obstacle for these potential advancers?"**

 **"The hallway. It's something they need to deal with quick. Otherwise they won't be able to recover enough for a qualifying spot. By now, they know what the first obstacle is."**

 **"Well said, mummy-man!"**

Back at the first obstacle, better known as the starting gate, the students were packed like sardines in the tin can of a hallway. Once some of them made it out, they were suddenly frozen in place by a steady flow of ice.

"That should slow them down," muttered Shoto as he glanced behind him while keeping a jogging pace.

"I can't move my legs!"

"That icy bastard!"

"This can't be legal!"

"That's too naïve, Todoroki!" yelled Momo as she, Katsuki, Eijiro, Yuga, and Sherry soared over the ice path, avoiding being frozen in place. "We thought you would pull something like this!"

"Get the hell back here, Icy-Hot!" yelled out a pissed off Katsuki.

Several of the others students managed to avoid the ice path from freezing them in place as well, using their respective Quirks where it was needed. Mina was sliding on the ice using acid secreted from the bottoms of her customized shoes, Tsuyu was hanging on one of the walls of the hallway with her tongue around Tooru's waist, Rikidou and Eijiro smashed through the ice block with their Quirks, and everyone else was sliding around or moving slowly on the slippery surface.

'More of them got through than I expected,' thought the half-white, half-redhead as he continued to create more ice in his path. He made sure of his promise of not being friendly in this Sports Festival, that's for sure.

Out of nowhere came Minoru, throwing down his 'balls' onto the frozen ground and easily jumping onto one after the other in an effort to catch up to first place.

"You thought you were super clever in making that trap for us, Todoroki?!" shouted Minoru as he was airborne right behind Shoto. "Now you will witness the greatness of my killer strategy!"

Around the same time, a verbal warning was shouted out from behind the mass of students to 'clear the launch zone'. It was shortly followed by a loud pop paired with a very strong outburst of air, knocking over, but not injuring, surprisingly, many students in the process. A large, sliding projectile was yelling 'BANZAI!' at the top of his lungs as he sped in between the students, knocking over a few that didn't listen to his warning beforehand.

"Utakata!?" loudly questioned some of the bubble teen's classmates. They weren't surprised to see Hajikeru pull something like this, as he had shown to be a bit of a goof during the last few weeks, but they were surprised over what he had done. That would be take advantage of the icy ground and quickly overtake the rest of the students with one of his Pressure Bubbles.

"Looks like he's having fun," muttered the purple haired teen as he rode on the backs of three, previously five, white-eyed and blank-looking students.

As the large, human sized projectile passed the front of the large group of students, a little human was about to put his plan into motion.

"Killer Move," started Minoru as he prepared two of this 'balls'. "Grape Ru—"

The little, grape teen was completely blindsided by a large, metal mass, causing him to roll into a series of cartwheels as he stumbled to a stop. Not long after, the bot that punted the little grape teen had its front legs destroyed by Hajikeru, whose icy path came to an abrupt stop and proceeded to tumble in several cartwheels before landing on his back.

"These things again?" questioned the bubble teen as he shook the dirt from his hair, noting the handicapped two-pointer bot from the Entrance Exams. At the same time, he noticed a weight hanging off his front torso and saw an unconscious Minoru attached to his PE clothes by his hair, almost resembling an alien coming out of his torso. "Oh you got to be kidding me." He figured he picked him up when he was tumbling from his lack of an ice path.

A looming shadow then made its presence known, causing the bubble teen to look up from his little predicament to the gargantuan predicament right in front of him and his fellow competitors. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

 _Back at the Coliseum Booth_

 **"AND OUR COMPETITORS HAVE ENCOUNTERED THEIR FIRST MAJOR OBSTACLE! THE ROBO INFERNO!"** announced the Voice Hero. On the field and in front of the competitors were over a dozen of the zero-point robots from the entrance exam, all looming over the students and intimidating the hell out of them. " **For those of you that are completely baffled by the size of those robots, trust me, they're much bigger up close.** "

 **"This will be their first real test of their merit,"** muffled out Shota.

 _Back at the Action_

"THE DAMN ZERO BOTS FROM THE ENTRANCE EXAMS!?" shouted a furious, sparking, and green-eyed Denryoku.

"Wow, Vice Rep," spoke a green haired girl, amusement clear in her voice. "I've never heard you yell like that before."

"*deep breath* the Zero bots and I have an irritating history together, however short it was, Tokage," spoke a now calm, non-sparking, and coal grey-eyed Denryoku.

This, of course, sparked some panic and major concerns from some of the students.

"There has to be over a dozen of them!"

"How are we suppose to get past them!?"

"So these are the pseudo-villains they used for the Entrance Exams," pondered Shoto as he stared at the mechanical behemoths. He then got into a stance while preparing his right side for a large scale freeze attack. "I commend them for using such obstacles, but I almost wish they prepared something more threatening. Especially since _he's_ watching." With a rush of sub-zero air and a wave of his arm, Shoto managed to freeze the looming form of the Zero-Point robot as it was closing in on the students. Once he was finished with his attack, he took off in a sprint under the robot, between the tank treads.

"He froze it!" spoke an unnamed student. "C'mon, let's go!"

"I wouldn't do that," called out the half-white, half-red head. As he spoke, the frozen behemoth began to creak and crumble under its own weight, putting it on the track of collapse. "I froze it when it was off balance, so that it would collapse."

Before the mechanical monster of a robot fully collapsed, a loud pop was heard from between the robot's treads and not one second later, a heavy projectile with a smaller projectile attached to his chest was speeding and yelling away from the collapsing structure.

"What the hell, Utakata!" yelled a now conscious and flailing Minoru. "That was a really, really stupid idea! We could've been crushed!"

"Shut up!" poorly countered Hajikeru as he recovered from the poor choice of action. "I panicked! I didn't want to be left behind!"

"Can you be any more brain dead?!"

"Can you get off me!?"

"Only when you get left behind!"

"That may be sooner than you think," called out Shoto from a distance.

Hajikeru turned his whole body to the wrecked remnants of the frozen Giga Bot so that the two arguing teens were able to look behind them. They spotted Hanta, Fumikage, and Katsuki vaulting over one of the robots in hot pursuit of the top place holders.

"Get your butt moving, Utakata!" screeched Minoru. Listening to the little grape teen, the bubble teen turned towards the plethora of robots as he prepared and detonated a Grapefruit-Type Pressure Bubble, pushing him and the little grape teen to the path next obstacle.

 _Back at the Coliseum Booth_

 **"And the rankings for the top qualifiers are:**

 **Shoto Todoroki in first place,**

 **Minoru Mineta in second place**

 **And literally carrying second place is Hajikeru Utakata in third place!**

 **Trailing right behind them and gaining ground fast are Hanta Sero, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Katsuki Bakugo!**

 **"And that's only after the first major obstacle of the Obstacle Course! Those three behind Utakata have a strong chance of overtaking them with the next obstacle. What's the next obstacle on the list, mummy-man?"**

 **"It's a series of rock spires connected by rope with a pitfall surrounding the spires,"** droned the Erasure Hero.

 **"BETTER KNOWN AS: THE FAAAAALL!"**

 _Back to the Action_

While it was an easy first few obstacles, things began to drastically slow down for the bubble teen. He was already panting from having to sprint to the next event and now his progress was driven to a crawl. There wasn't an entirely safe way to get through The Fall using his Quirk, nor did he think Minoru's would actually help here, so he was restricted to simple, physical labor. It had been a few minutes since he had started the Fall and he had only made it halfway.

"Go faster, Utakata!" shouted Minoru as he sat on the bubble teen's torso, now free from being stuck to the guy's torso. Hajikeru was currently traversing one of the ropes that connected the rock spires together while upside down, using his arms for locomotion with his legs locked together to prevent himself from falling into the deep pit. "I can see some people already at the start of the pit!"

"Unless you have a faster way to get across, I suggest you zip it!" growled an irritated bubble teen. He didn't know when it was decided that he and the little pervert were going to work together, but his focus for the moment was trying to get through the rough patch he encountered.

"I think I see Bakugo! Lucky son of a babe is flying through this stupid thing with no problem!"

"Oh good. Let him go after Todoroki. If anything, those two will be too distracted trying kick each other's teeth in for first to even care about the race." He also noted how many others are making their way through The Fall with relative ease. Hanta was swinging about with his tape and had passed them with a salute, Sherry had passed them not too long after Minoru point out Katsuki, Tenya had passed them doing a weird dance that made him look foolish, and a girl with high tech gear stood out at the start of the obstacle. And that was outside of the multitude of students also starting The Fall or easily making their way through it in a short time frame. In short he and Minoru were going to be overtaken if he didn't so something quick.

As he reached the third to last spire to the next obstacle, he contemplated an idea, a stupid idea, but an idea that will save him a lot of time. He already lost out on a few ranks when the aforementioned students easily passed him and Minoru and he couldn't risk losing any more ranks with the mass of students quickly gaining on them.

"What are you doing, dude!?" loudly asked the grape teen as he stood next to the massive-by-comparison bubble teen.

"Something risky, but it should keep our spots from going below the 20s. Maybe even 10s." He then turned around and began to blow one of this signature pressure bubbles. 'This spire is much lower than the previous one, so I don't think anyone will be knocked down into the pit if I fire off a Pressure Bubble this big. That's got to be a deep hole if I can't see the bottom.' He continued to blow until the bubble was around 130 centimeters across, the largest Pressure Bubble he can currently make, Pumpkin Type. "It's done. *cough* You coming?"

"You're gonna launch yourself!? Hell yeah, I'm going!" The grape teen then held onto the balls he left behind when he removed himself from his initial position on the bubble teen's chest. "Ready!"

"Here goes nothing!"

Hajikeru took a step back, his back just barely avoiding making contact with the oversized bubble. He took a deep breath and with a flick of his finger to the pressurized bubble and a short leap forward, he flew over the last two spires with a loud pop enveloping them. A few seconds later, the duo managed to land onto the next portion of the Obstacle Course.

Well, it was more like stumble onto the dirt road and hit a landmine that clouded his entire vision with pink smoke. Both launchees screamed in terror while one explosive after another was set off as they continued to slide into the middle of the last obstacle of the Obstacle Course. Many of the students that just finished The Fall can only stare at the clouds of pink coming from the road ahead of them, while those in the mine field already can only brace themselves and hope the two crash landees don't trip any mines near their position.

 _Back at the Coliseum Booth_

 **"OH!"** shouted out Present Mic. **"AND AFTER MAKING A RISKY JUMP WITH THE LAST LEG OF THE FALL, BOTH UTAKATA AND MINETA ARE NOW EXPERIENCING THE FULL-ON, PISS YOUR PANTS TERROR THAT IS THE MINE FIELD! Seriously though, they look absolutely ridiculous hitting all those mines!"**

 **"Aren't you suppose to encourage the students, not patronize them?"** asked a bored mummy-man.

 **"I JUST SAY IT AS I SEES IT, BRO!"**

 _Back to the Action_

The first thing Hajikeru noticed when he shook of the daze he felt from hitting so many non-lethal landmines was that there were only a few students ahead of him, meaning his plan worked, even if he did blow both himself and Minoru up in the process. The second thing he noticed was the lack of Minoru hanging onto the balls on his chest. They were covered in dirt and dust from the resulting landmine explosions and there was no sight of the—

"Oh, there he is," muttered out Hajikeru groggily as he saw the screeching grape teen land next to his prone form. "Sup Mineta, what's your story? *cough*"

"Teikiatsu refused my Grape Rush!" cried out Minoru.

"Neat. Well time to get moving! *Ack*" The bubble teen quickly got up, still a little disoriented, and began to hop onto his the balls of his feet between the obvious mine locations. He was so close to moving on, so he couldn't take it easy now.

"Wait! Let me use your head as a lookout to find someone else to Grape Rush!" begged the grape teen as he tried to jump onto the bubble teen's back.

"Why me specifically!? *Eck* Also that move sounds like a sexual harassment suit just waiting to happen! *cough*"

"We're partners, aren't we?! And it's a badass name! Don't question it!"

"You didn't even want to be paired with me in the first place!*Mhgh*"

"But you stayed within the top 10 this whole time! Why wouldn't I want to stick around?

"Because you're a unrestricted pervert in search of a girl to attach yourself to. *Ahem* You tried that with Teikiatsu and she hit you with her Quirk, right?"

"It's called strategiz—"

*BOOOOOM*

From behind the two teens, as well as a large mass of students, came a very large explosion of bright pink and a deafening noise and powerful pressure wave swept over all. Flying out of the explosion and passing many of the students was none other than the meek teen himself, holding on to a piece of metal from one of the robots from the Robo Inferno obstacle.

"Midoriya?!" shouted the two teens in surprise.

"How the hell did he do that?!" questioned Minoru.

"Did he hit a crap ton of mines too!?" responded Hajikeru with a surprised expression before going into a small coughing fit. "Why were there that many mines there in the first place?!"

"Maybe he dug them up?" The bubble teen quickly looked at the grape teen next to him before tilting his head in acknowledgement. As much as it sounded unlikely, Hajikeru had a feeling Izuku was smart and clever enough to pull such a comeback when he was far behind everyone else.

Still tracking Izuku's progress as he flew, the bubble teen noticed that he was going to crash right in front of Katsuki and Shoto.

"Get the hell back here, Deku!" shouted the explosive teen as he intensified the explosions in his palms in an effort to catch up to Izuku. Shoto then used his Quirk to freeze the path in front of him, completely disabling the landmines ahead of him so he can run without setting them off.

'That can't be good,' thought the bubble teen.

He was then thrown for another loop when he witnessed his friend use the backs of the first place contenders as a platform and slammed down his slab of metal onto the ground, setting off the landmines underneath. The resulting explosion wasn't as big as the one he set off earlier, but it was enough to propel him forward and send Shoto and Katsuki to the side of the course. Even if they recovered quickly, Izuku managed to put enough distance between them to solidify his first place position.

"Holy crap! That was awesome!" shouted Hajikeru as he kept running on through the now landmine free area of the mine field. As he was looking on in amazement, he heard a gasp from the little grape teen beside him.

"See ya, Utakata! My precious is calling me!" The grape teen was practically drooling a waterfall from the sight of Momo running passed them. He got into a crouched position on the bubble teen's head after jumping up to get there.

After getting the sense that she was being eyed inappropriately, Momo turned around to see a lecherous Minoru with one of his balls in each of his hands, flying towards her with the intention of attaching himself to her rear. The very sight of the little pervert made her blood run cold, knowing the little grape teen enough that he would do something of this caliber.

"Mine!" Minoru was within 20 centimeters of his goal before a large hand encompassed his torso.

"Wait," calmly spoke Haikeru.

"What the hell, Utakata!? She's right there! Let me have my prize!"

"I've been thinking… Maybe we should continue to work together."

"WHAT?!"

"I mean you had your points and I think we can both benefit from this partnership."

"Shut up! You cockblocked me on purpose!"

"Thanks, Utakata," spoke a now relieved Momo, gaining the bubble teen's attention. "I guess I owe you one for saving me from embarrassment."

"Hm?" replied the bubble teen as he kept the hold on Minoru, having not 'seen' Momo running beside him. "Oh, hey, Yaoyorozu. When did you get here?"

Having caught on to what the bubble teen was implying, the dark haired girl decided to play along. "Oh, I just got here. I was planning on using a bike for the last stretch, but then Todoroki froze the path. So, now I'm running."

"Neat."

"You suck so much!" yelled out Minoru.

"Aw c'mon, partner," Hajikeru replied. "I'll let you take the spot before meeeeee."

"I don't want a higher spot! I want her and her ass!"

"That's sexual harassment, dude."

"It's called a passion!"

"That passion is gonna get you arrested one day."

 _Back at the Coliseum_

 **"AND OUR QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS ARE NOW POURING IN ONE AFTER THE OTHER!"** announced Present Mic. **"SOON ENOUGH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR 48 CONTESTANTS FOR THE NEXT EVENT! BUT FOR NOW, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A SHORT COMMERCIAL BREAK. GOTTA PAY OFF THOSE GIANT ROBOTS SOMEHOW! YOU HAVE THE LAST LINE, MUMMY-MAN!"**

 **"We're not taking a commercial break, Mic,"** droned Shota. **"This is a public broadcast that we fund ourselves. We don't take advertiser promotions."**

 **"Well, we gotta cut the pacing down somehow. So how about we take a 20 minute break, before Midnight announces the next event?"**

 **"Fine, I could use a nap."**

 **AN: *cough* And there we go. I decided to put in a little bit of character development for some of the characters, and while it isn't much, I do plan to flush them out somewhere down the line. Hell, I may even do it here during the Sports Festival Arc. This chapter originally was shorter, but then I got impatient to get to the Obstacle Course part and decided to include it here. Now comes the bigger/more fun problem: Getting the teams together for the Cavalry Battle. Yes I'm still using the anime/manga as a template. I'm a total scrub when it comes to creating something vastly original. It will happen, though. I won't say what it is though. ;D Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I certainly had a lot of fun with this one. As always, criticism is always welcome. It helps me improve my writing and/or development of the story. And I hope you all have a good night/day/afternoon/evening/morning/du... okay, you get the point. I'm sorry.)**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit 1/15/19:**

 **Okay, so I fixed this chapter a bit to make it flow a little better, as it was rushed for 'demand'… Yeah, I don't believe that shit either. And that about does it. Onward to my crusade to fix this… 100,000… plus… fanfic… shiiiieeee…)**


	7. The UA Sports Festival: Preparations

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

Side Story: The Shining Invisible Girl

 _Day after the Declaration of War_

It was the day after the group of seven decided to aid Tooru in achieving an elusive aspect of her Invisibility Quirk, the designated 'shine' ability. The group was sitting at some benches that they had to arrange in a parallel fashion, as they were stacked up next to an isolated shed at the gated rooftop. The first one to break the silence was the invisible girl herself.

"Soooo," started Tooru. "How is this training montage going to work?"

"If we can call it a training montage," Hajikeru inserted with furrowed brows. "Let's start by going over what happened during the team exercise with All Might last week. Iida?"

"Of course," responded Iida, taking a swig of his drink before starting. "Let's see… I was going over the change of plans when Bakugo made it clear that he was not going to cooperate with me and Hagakure during the exercise. I mentioned it was a plus that Midoriya was not going to be an issue when it came to interfering and Hagakure responded with, and I quote: 'Don't you mean it's a 'Plus Ultra' we need to take advantage of?' It was when she finished her question that she began to irradiate a white light around her body, save for the gloves and boots."

"And it was at that same time when the camera monitor began to turn white in the observation room," Mezo inputted, being the only one in the group in said observation room at the time.

The more analytical members of the group, being Denryoku and Izuku, began pondering ways this can be achieved. The bushy teen was writing down ideas in his current Hero Notebook, while the stoic teen gave an educated suggestion.

"So by that, we only know that there's a specific trigger to activate that aspect of Hagakure's Quirk," observed the electro-teen. "The problem now is what it could be. Any ideas?"

"Could be because she said 'Plus Ultra'?" playfully suggested Ochako with a mouthful of rice. "I feel super pumped when I say it!"

"Hey, Hagakure?" questioned Izuku once he finished writing, drawing all eyes on him. "What was your mental state when you made that joke?" The meek teen received a couple of perplexed looks from Ochako, Tooru, and Mezo and some furrowed brows from the rest.

"My mental state?" asked a confused Tooru. "Why would that be important?"

"It's just a thought, but maybe the trigger for activating the irradiating ability of your Quirk is tied to what mental state you're in. What exactly did you feel after you made the joke?"

"Um… happiness? Joy? Maybe glee? I 'm not really sure."

"But it is an emotion that you're familiar with, right?" Mezo asked. The invisible girl confirmed the multi-armed teen's observation with a quick 'Yup!'.

"So it could be triggered by a positive feeling or mood, if what you're saying is true," Denryoku observed.

"That makes sense…" hesitantly responded the bubble teen. "But something's bothering me about this."

"What's up, Haji?"

"Hagakure," the bubble teen spoke, gaining his invisible friend's attention. "You said this has happened before, but don't remember the feeling of it, right?" He received a nod in response… or at least he thinks it's a nod. "Before the exercise with All Might, when was the last time this happened?"

The invisible girl went silent for a good minute trying to remember the last time the hidden aspect of her Quirk showed itself. She had the end of one of her sleeves to the area above her necktie in a thinking position. The rest of the students around her were quietly looking on in anticipation while eating their respective lunches.

"I think…" began Tooru. "The last time this happened was… last year when I thanked my mom for letting me apply to U.A."

The entire group was taken aback from what their invisible friend just revealed to them. Was she not allowed to apply to U.A. before her mother or her parents agreed or something? Deciding it wasn't important for now, the 'analysts' were back at it.

"So it's definitely a positive emotion that's the trigger, maybe elation if we want to get specific," Denryoku noted. "And with what you said about the 'Plus Ultra' thing before, we can also say it's a spontaneous outburst of positive emotion."

"Hold on," pressed Ochako. "So it's like when someone says something to encourage someone else and they finish with a happy expression?"

"That's the closest I can get to putting it into words, yes."

"That's awesome, Hagakure! You have a super strong Girl's Charm! Geez, I can't believe I forgot about it yesterday!"

This got all the boys to raise their eyebrows in confusion. As teenage boys, they were completely oblivious to the ever changing workings of the female mind.

"A… what?" asked a confused Mezo.

"A Girl's Charm!" stated Ochako as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's a state where a girl can turn anyone into putty with a sentence and a smile! My momma used to do it to my dad all the time when they were dating."

"I fail to see how this is related to Hagakure's Quirk, Uraraka," doubted Tenya as he adjusted his glasses.

"That's because it's not Quirk related, Iida! It's just something girls can do!"

"So we can assume you can do it too, Uraraka?" asked Hajikeru, doubtful as Tenya.

"Yep! Watch."

The gravity girl then gave off a wide smile and the blush marks on her face slightly grew larger with a slightly darker shade of red. Surrounding her person was a bright yellow background with several flower petals scattered about.

"You're the bestest friends a girl can ever have!"

The reactions from the boys, save for Mezo and Denryoku, who were mainly unaffected, were about the same, slightly widened eyes and a light blush dusting their cheeks, save for one. Izuku's plain, freckled face had turned a bright cherry red and his eyes were completely shut from the intense light Ochako irradiated. It was a kneejerk reaction to his heart clenching from the cuteness.

When she ceased the 'Girl's Charm', Ochako couldn't help but be taken back about how weird her bushy haired friend looked.

"Are you okay, Deku? You're looking kinda gross right now."

She managed to snap Izuku out of his 'moment', but now he couldn't look his brunette friend in the eye out of embarrassment. "Uh… Yeah! I'm fine. I just… was caught off guard. That's all!"

Several of the other boys and Tooru got a good laugh out of their meek acquaintance's embarrassment, which only made him hide himself further into his arms.

"So? What did you guys think?" asked Ochako in anticipation, specifically asking Tenya and Mezo.

Both teens, while slightly distracted with the display, were also mentally comparing what they witnessed with Tooru when she, supposedly, did the same thing.

"Well," began Tenya. "Compared to when Hagakure did it, it was surprisingly tame. When she did it, I felt like my heart was going to explode compared to the light flutter I felt when you did it, Uraraka. Also the intensity surrounding your body was a percentage to Hagakure's."

'Was her's really that strong?' thought the gravity girl, slightly shocked that her 'Girl's Charm' was that much weaker than Tooru's, not that she was disappointed or anything.

"I can't really add input since we don't have a camera to make a comparison," plainly said Mezo, causing the group of friends to sweatdrop.

"So, does this 'Girl's Charm' vary between girls or… something like that?" awkwardly asked the bubble teen.

"According to my momma, it's pretty much the same thing for every girl but it can be enhanced depending if she has makeup on to enhance her facial features," replied Ochako in a straightforward manner. This seemed to have drawn some confused looks towards both her and Tooru. If what the gravity girl said is true, then how is it possible for the **invisible** girl to even have a 'Girl's Charm' in the first place?

Having shook off his embarrassment to listen to what his brunette friend had to say, something didn't seem to add up for Izuku. From what Tenya and Mezo said about Tooru's 'shine' moment, she should be able to produce enough light to turn a camera monitor completely white. But according to Ochako, she would need a visible presence to actually have it work. Being completely invisible, she doesn't seem to have that presence at all. Unless… Izuku's eyes widened in realization from the idea that struck his mind.

"Hagakure," addressed Izuku as he began to write into his Hero Notebook anew, his eyes never leaving the invisible girl's… um… tie. His face began to redden in embarrassment, until he was told to look slightly more up by Hajikeru.

"Just imagine a face above her tie, Midoriya," he said.

"R-right…" the meek teen replied before shaking off his embarrassment and putting his focus on the invisible girl. "Anyway, about your Quirk, how exactly does it work?"

"My Quirk?" asked a perplexed Tooru. "My Quirk is called Invisibility. I told everyone that on the first day."

"Okay, but do you know how it works?"

"Oh, now I get it," Denryoku muttered to himself as he brought a hand to his chin.

"Get what?" Hajikeru asked in confusion.

"I'm very confused. What are you guys going on about?" asked an equally perplexed Ochako.

"I'll let Midoriya explain the details, but I'll get him started," spoke up Denryoku as he looked at the invisible girl. "Hagakure, how would you describe the workings of your Quirk?"

"Let's see," Tooru pondered. "I would say it makes me transparent, like glass!"

"That's a simple way of describing it, but it's not exactly accurate," explained Izuku with a steady gaze. "You see, for something to appear invisible, the object in question needs to be able to bend light around it so it doesn't cast a shadow and it can't have a reflection. When light passes through glass, it can either pass through it or it gets refracted at an angle, depending on what shape it's in. I think your skin or even your biological cells are able to refract light around them to make you appear completely invisible. And I think because the 'Girl's Charm' emits its own light, the refracted light that originally gets bent around is instead directed outward, therefore intensifying the effect."

Pure silence surrounded the group of seven following the in depth analysis of the invisible girl's Quirk given by the teen that was second in shyness to Koji Koda. Five of the students were staring at Izuku with dumbfounded expressions, very much surprised with how detailed his break down of Tooru's Quirk was, while the one other student was simply impressed, though he didn't show it. After some time of intense silence, the meek teen was beginning to become flustered before the bubble teen decided to break the silence.

"Dude, that was awesome," Hajikeru plainly said, bringing new shades of red to the already reddening teen.

"Yeah!" added Ochako. "Even though it was super nerdy, you sounded cool, Deku!" This prompted the meek teen to turn an even brighter shade of scarlet from having a girl compliment his long standing hobby.

"I must say, I, too, am impressed over how much into detail you went into for your explanation, Midoriya," Tenya said. "Though, I suppose it shouldn't be much of a surprise since you did mention that you studied heroes during introductions."

"I-i-it was n-nothing, g-guys," stuttered a flustered Izuku. Growing up, he was always teased for his obsession with Heroes. So when he was being praised for the very same thing, he didn't know how to react. In the end, he settled for embarrassed, albeit unintentionally.

"So all I need to do to stand out in the Sports Festival is to do as Uraraka says with the 'Girl's Charm' thingy?" asked the invisible teen.

"If you can do it at will, sure," replied the gravity teen. A happy inhale of breath from Tooru was what Ochako received as a reply.

"That's awesome, Hagakure!" jovially exclaimed the bubble teen. "You got a new Quirk ability! Now you'll be able to stand out during the Sports Festival!" He received a 'Yeah!' in response as Tooru jumped up from her sitting position, striking various dynamic poses for her debut. Her bubble blowing friend was quick to her in her

"Hold on a sec, Haji," interrupted Denryoku, putting a stop to his friend's gushing. "There's still the problem of bringing it out at will. Did you forget that?"

The blank pause that settled around the Hajikeru, and unsurprisingly Tooru, spoke for itself.

"You both forgot, didn't you?"

"No," both teens simultaneously denied immediately.

"Well, we got what makes it happen, thanks to Midoriya," Mezo said. "So now we can focus on making it happen at will, right?"

"That's right," responded the electro-teen as he began to gather his things. "I'll see you after school, Haji."

"Where're you going?" asked a confused Hajikeru.

"Lunch period is almost over. I got to get back to Class 1-B to help set up the Hero Studies portion of the day."

"Oh right. Good point."

"I'll see you guys later." The vice president of Class 1-B received several goodbyes as a response to his exit.

"I suggest we get going too!" suggested Tenya as he too stood up with his things packed up. "Midoriya, as Class 1-A's Vice President, it would set a good example to the other students if you were five minutes early for class."

"Uh, sure, Iida," responded Izuku as he gathered the remains of his lunch and Hero Notebook.

 _Alright, that's enough side story._

 _Now back to the Action_

"Damn it, Mic," growled an irritated Midnight as she glared at the empty commentator booth. "What warranted you to take a break just as the first event wrapped up!?" She shifted her glare to the counter next to the large gate that acted as the starting and finishing line, which read 56 in bright red, then to the mass of scattered students in front of her trying to catch their breath. "Well, no time like the present." The R-Rated Hero then turned on her microphone with a press of a button on her earpiece. **"Ladies and gentlemen! We have our qualifying students! Now let's check the results of the Obstacle Course!"**

1st. Izuku Midoriya (Class 1-A)

2nd. Shoto Todoroki (Class 1-A)

3rd. Katsuki Bakugo (Class 1-A)

4th. Sherry Teikiatsu (Class 1-A)

5th. Ibara Shiozaki (Class 1-B)

6th. Juzo Honenuki (Class 1-B)

7th. Tenya Iida (Class 1-A)

8th. Hanta Sero (Class 1-A)

9th. Eijiro Kirishima (Class 1-A)

10th. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (Class 1-B)

11th. Momo Yaoyorozu (Class 1-A)

12th. Minoru Mineta (Class 1-A)

13th. Hajikeru Utakata (Class 1-A)

14th. Yoyetsu Awase (Class 1-B)

15th. Mashirao Ojiro (Class 1-A)

16th. Tsuyu Asui (Class 1-A)

17th. Mezo Shouji (Class 1-A)

18th. Rikido Satou (Class 1-A)

19th. Fumikage Tokoyami (Class 1-A)

20th. Ochako Uraraka (Class 1-A)

21st. Mina Ashido (Class 1-A)

22nd. Koji Koda (Class 1-A)

23rd. Kyoka Jiro (Class 1-A)

24th. Sen Kaibara (Class 1-B)

25th. Kosei Tsuburaba (Class 1-B)

26th. Denki Kaminari (Class 1-A)

27th. Kojiro Bondo (Class 1-B)

28th. Reiko Yanagi (Class 1-B)

29th. Hitoshi Shinsou (Class 1-C)

30th. Itsuka Kendo (Class 1-B)

31st. Pony Tsunotori (Class 1-B)

32nd. Jurota Shishida (Class 1-B)

33rd. Hiryu Rin(Class 1-B)

34th. Shihai Kuroiro (Class 1-B)

35th. Tooru Hagakure (Class 1-A)

36th. Setsuna Tokage (Class 1-B)

37th. Denryoku Emera (Class 1-B)

38th. Yui Kodai (Class 1-B)

39th. Kinoko Komori (Class 1-B)

40th. Neito Monoma (Class 1-B)

41st. Togaru Kamakiri (Class 1-B)

42nd. Nirengeki Shoda(Class 1-B)

43rd. Jiki Kensei (Class 1-E)

44th. Kiji Kensei (Class 1-E)

45th. Gakudan Gakutai (Class 1-H)

46th. Mei Hatsume (Class 1-F)

47th. Manga Fukidashi (Class 1-B)

48th. Yuga Aoyama (Class 1-A)

 **"If you didn't make the qualifying round, don't worry. We have some party games for you all to participate in after the second qualifying round."** This seemed to have perked up at least some of the students that got below 48th place. **"To those who did make it, this is where it gets hot. Now let's see what your next event will be!"**

As the event-roulette wheel was spinning, Hajikeru was walking over to where his best friend was lying on the ground with the intent of checking on him. When he got there, he didn't appear exhausted but did appear winded from how deep the electro-teen's breath is.

"You doing okay there, pally?" asked the bubble teen in a casual tone.

The electro-teen was about to respond, until he noticed the two big holes in the front of his friend's PE uniform. "Haji, why are there two big gaping holes in your clothes?"

"I had Yaoyorozu make me some scissors to get rid of Mineta's balls." It should be noted that Hajikeru had left his PE shirt open since it doesn't zip up any more.

A brief pause was given before Denryoku responded. "Should I ask?"

"Details later. Just answer my question."

"Just tired, Haji," replied the deadpanned toned teen. "I had to rush the last bit of the Course because of something I had to confirm."

"What caught your attention that much to get you to place in the 30s? Knowing you, you would've placed in the top 20 easily."

"I know that." The electro teen made a move to get up, accepting a large hand to aid his movement courtesy of the bubble teen. "But this felt too important to pass up. You know the guy who declared war on Class 1-A?"

"Purple hair? Dead eyes that rival Aizawa-sensei's? Yeah, that guy was a jerk."

"I got a taste of what his Quirk can do." It should be noted that Denryoku's normally nonchalant face was twisted into a small scowl as he spoke.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah." The electro-teen called back the foggy/hazy feeling of being suspended in his own head, his body moving of its own volition and his conscious mind being helpless in trying to stop it. "It's a form of brainwashing. I didn't get a good idea of what it did or what I did to trigger it the first time around, but during the Mine Field portion of the Obstacle Course I managed to get him to brainwash me again. And I figured out how it works."

"You did!? But how did you—" The bubble teen was cut off from getting more information on the purple haired teen's Quirk by a certain dominatrix themed Hero.

 **"You're next event will be: The Cavalry Battle!"** As the R-Rated Hero announced to the audience and students the next event, an image of a stick figure was being held up from the front and the back by two other stick figures. **"This is how it will work. You will each form teams of two to four members and form a horse and rider formation. How the formation should go is completely up to you. Now, we'll go over the point system."** The results screen from before once again appeared to show each student's ranking from the previous event. **"The number of points you receive will be based on what rank you placed in the Obstacle Course. It starts with 5 at 48th, then 10 at 47th, and so on. In short, the higher you rank, the more points you will be worth. But to make things interesting, as well as give everyone else a chance at being number one…"** A sadistic/devilish smirk grew on Midnight's face as she announced the number of points first place will receive.

 **"1st Place will be worth 10 million points."**

As if a switch was activated in every student's mind, they simultaneously turned their heads towards Izuku, who was looking as pale and white eyed as the first day of school. The only difference now was that he was still conscious and retained his soul.

"That can't be good," mutter the bubble teen, looking sorry for his smaller green haired friend. As he continued to look on in sympathy, he could have sworn the students surrounding him turned into shadowy figures with bright, white eyes. "What the…? Dude are you—"

"You're not going crazy," Denryoku said, looking slightly less disturbed over the image. "I see it too."

"Oh good."

 **"If you're all done eyeing the prize, let me finish up the rules,"** announced Midnight, subtly smirking at the hostility. **"Each team's points will be determined by the total number of points from each individual member. The rider will wear their team's headband on any region above the neck area. You will have 15 minutes to grab and manage as many points as you can. If your headband is taken or your horse formation falls apart, you are not out. Until time is up, you are still in the game. But make note of this."** She cracked her whip onto the stage to gain every student's attention. **"Quirks are obviously going to be allowed in this event, but actively using them with the intent of making another team fall over is a big red card! Do that, and you're out of the game! You have fifteen minutes to form your teams! Get moving!"**

With the announcement over, the students began to shift around to form their teams. Hajikeru was looking for a certain meek teen with the intention of forming a team with him. As he walked, he called back the short conversation with his best friend.

 _During and shortly after Midnight's explanation_

 _"So you're saying that guy can brainwash people if they respond to him?" Hajikeru asked._

 _"Yup," simply answered the electro-teen. "And it can be broken by a shock or disturbance to the body, either by a physical hit or a loud noise. The first time I snapped out of it, it was because of your stupid 'Banzai!' move."_

 _"Hey, I told people to clear a path when I said 'Clear the Launch Zone'."_

 _"And I'm thankful that I was one of the people you tripped up it. That was when I snapped out of it the first time. I had a hypothesis in the working as to how that guy's Quirk worked after I recollected the events before I was brainwashed, but I needed confirmation."_

 _"So the Mine Field gave you a perfect opportunity to test it without risk."_

 _"Exactly. All I had to do was gain his attention, get him to respond, hop onto a mine, respond before I hit the mine, and see if I remember hitting the mine."_

 _"That sounds about right," Hajikeru nodded._

 _"If you encounter that guy during this event or the last event if you run into him, don't respond. Got it?"_

 _"Yeah, I got it."_

 _"Alright then. See you in the last event."_

 _"Wait, you don't want to form a team?" asked a confused Hajikeru._

 _"As much as I want to, I would rather we try to make it on our own. And besides, don't you want to help Midoriya with the burden he's been given?"_

 _The bubble teen contemplated his best friend's words, not particularly disagreeing with him. It was his intention for them to meet in the last event, The Tournament, to show what they can both do against each other in a no holds bar match. They had their sparing matches, but they were restricted to zero Quirk usage since they were often in public and unregulated places. So this gave them the perfect opportunity for him to face his best friend with everything they had._

 _"Alright, that's fine," responded Hajikeru after a brief silence. "But I want you to do me a favor."_

 _"Depends on what it is," simply replied the electro-teen._

 _"I want you to form a team with Hagakure."_

 _The electro-teen raised one of his eyebrows in confusion at the request from his bubble-blowing friend. "Explain."_

 _"She wants to stand out so much during the Sports Festival and this is the perfect opportunity for her to show off her 'shine' ability. I did originally want to form a team with her and Shouji, but after seeing Midoriya be stuck with the largest target ever known to U.A., I need to give him a helping hand, especially after that hostile display back there."_

 _"And why me and not Shouji?"_

 _"Because he's terrible with people. And I could see him grouping up with Mineta and I don't think he's going to want my company."_

 _"And why not Uraraka?"_

 _"Because she's going to join Midoriya. It's in her nature."_

 _"And why not—"_

 _"Dude, c'mon! Please!?"_

 _"Alright, alright. I just wanted you ask nicely. You did kind of demand it out of me."_

 _"See you in the tournament, you jerk."_

 **(AN: Yeah, its a little long for a it to take place during Midnight's short speech, but I needed this exposition in this text and I couldn't really shorten it without cutting out anything important. So there.)**

 _Now_

Hajikeru managed to find a wide open area with a single occupant standing in the middle, being intentionally isolated by the surrounding students.

'Well that wasn't so hard,' thought the bubble teen. He then bumped into a smaller figure with notable chestnut-brunette hair. "Oh, hey Uraraka."

"Hey, Utaka—," responded the bubbly brunette before sputtering at the two large holes in his PE clothes. "Pfft… Why are there two big holes in your shirt?"

"I had Yaoyorozu make me some scissors so I could cut around Mineta's balls."

"Weird, but okay! Did you get your team yet?"

"Not yet. I was going to form a team with Midoriya, though. He looks like he could use the support."

"Awesome! I was gonna do the same thing! Let's surprise him!" The look of glee in the gravity teen's eye was enough to get the bubble teen spirits up.

"Let's."

They both approached the shocked and hopeless-looking greenette in an attempt to at least ease his worries. He was currently surrounded by a purple background with the word 'Confidence' being repeated and swirling in a spiral fashion.

'It's like a reverse 'Girl's Charm',' thought the bubble teen, slightly disturbed by what he was witnessing.

"Hey Deku!" called out Ochako as she and Hajikeru approached Izuku. Said green haired teen stiffly turned his head towards the sound of his brunette friend. "Let's team up!"

"Hey, Midoriya," casually greeted Hajikeru with a wave.

"Uraraka! Utakata!" shouted Izuku as his eyes began gushing tears like a broken fire hydrant. "Are you sure?! Everyone's gonna be after me and my 10 million stupid points! Tell me you're not kidding!"

"Dude, what the hell am I soaked in?" asked a disturbed and very tear-doused bubble teen, having taken the brunt of the spray.

"Oh relax! They're just Deku tears," responded a carefree Ochako as she simply wiped away the tears that managed to land on her. "Anyway Deku, we could win this if we just run away the whole time, right?"

Having shut off his tears ducts, Izuku nervously looked over his two teammates/friends. "Um… I think you're underestimating everyone here or you're overestimating us, Uraraka. Besides, being in Todoroki's and Kacchan's sight was bad enough, but being everyone's main target is a little too much for me to handle."

"Either way, I'd like to see these guys try and take the points away that easily," Hajikeru responded with a confident smirk as he punched his palm.

"Yup! And besides…" A familiar yellow backdrop and flower petals to that of two weeks ago began to form around the gravity teen. "Teaming up with your friends is the best way to victory!"

Like the first time Ochako used her 'Girl's Charm' on the boys if their group, the reactions were about the same. Hajikeru's eyes slightly widened and a very light blush dusted his cheeks and Izuku's face turned a bright cherry red and his facial features contorted to make his 'ugly face'. The bubble teen had to stifle a laugh after taking one look at his meek friend.

"Are you okay, Deku!?" asked a concerned Ochako. "You're looking really gross again! Maybe I should stop doing that, even by accident."

"No, no, keep doing it," suggested a cheeky looking Hajikeru. "He doesn't mind, do you Midoriya?"

"Uh-uh… Anyway!" stammered Izuku as he shook off his reddening face. "I was actually hoping to team up with you guys. Teaming up with people you're familiar with is definitely the best option for a game like this. Now to make this team complete, we just need one more person."

"Iida's over there, by the way." The bubble teen pointed to where his fellow dark-blue haired classmate was for the meek teen. As one, the group of three made their way to the speedy teen with the intention of recruiting him.

"Iida!" called out Izuku, gaining Tenya's attention. Said teen turned around to see three of his friends in nearly the same posture, slightly open smile with both fists in front of their chests. It almost looked adorable.

"Midoriya, Uraraka, Utakata," addressed Tenya. "What is it you need?"

"We want you to join our team, Iida," Izuku said, gaining the speedy teen's attention. "Here's what I have. You can be the frontman since your Quirk revolves around speed. Uraraka can make us weightless, which will give us superb maneuverability. And Utakata can be our rider with his longer reach and his Quirk can give us some defense with his bubbles. That's about all I have, but we still have some time before the event starts to work out the little details."

The speedy teen contemplated the information for a moment before giving his answer. "I expected no less from you, Midoriya. However, I must decline your offer."

This was not what the group was expecting, though the larger teen was more interested in what Tenya had to say than his smaller friends.

"Ever since the Entrance Exam, I've been coming up short to you. You figured out the true meaning to the Entrance Exam and you thought up a way to win the first exercise with All Might. You're a wonderful friend and that's why I can't follow you. For now, don't see me as your friend. See me as Bakugo and Todoroki see you… As a rival." The speedy teen solidified his declaration by joining Shoto, Momo, and Denki as a part of their team.

"Oh, and Utakata," addressed the speedy teen, gaining the bubble teen's attention. "I'm looking to get you back for that throw during the Team Exercise."

The bubble teen responded with a defiant smirk in return. "We'll see if you follow through with that, Iida."

Even if he meant it with the best of intentions, it was clear that Tenya had waged his own war on Izuku and, by extension, Hajikeru. To the boys of the group of three, they began to understand that it was a time where friendships didn't mean anything. They wouldn't be shown mercy simply because they had their share of good times with the people in front of them. They were all aiming for the top spot and they weren't going to let friendship get in the way of that.

"Darn it," mumbled Ochako. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well, we could change my position to the front to make it more defensive to make up for the lack of speed," suggested the bubble teen whilst in a thinking position. "Though to be frank, considering our competition, it's not going to be enough to keep them away."

"We need to think of something." Ochako was scrambling her hair around in frustration as the weight of being at the top began to weigh down on her. "Hey, where's Deku going?"

Hajikeru shifted his rectangular eyes to where his meek friend was originally standing, then towards the bush of green hair walking away from them.

"Hm…" observed the bubble teen. "He's probably going for another member for our team."

"Did he think of someone else to fill Iida's spot?" asked the gravity teen in curiosity.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he did. The guy is a really good strategist, probably better than Denryo too. Don't tell him I said that, though."

"Hehe… If you say so."

 _Meanwhile_

"You should pick me!"

"No, you definitely want me on your team!"

"I don't want to beg, but s'il vous plait (please)?"

Once the R-Rated Hero finished her explanation of the Cavalry Battle and gave everyone 15 minutes to choose their teams, a certain ashen blond was continuously being bombarded with requests to be on his team. And frankly, he didn't know what to make of the situation with how subtly confused he looked.

"Wait, who the hell are you, again?" asked the explosive teen. "You look familiar but I don't know your names."

"You've got to be kidding me," responded a frustrated Mina. "We're your classmates!"

"You can't possibly be that self-absorbed, can you?" asked an equally frustrated Rikido.

"Hm…" The explosive blond glared at his present classmates, consisting of Rikido, Mina, Hanta, Yuga, and Kyoka. "Jojo, Raccoon Eyes, Soy Sauce Face, Sparkles, eh… Earlobes."

"Jojo? Like the manga?"

"Raccoon Eyes?!"

"What does soy sauce have to do with my face?"

"Non, non, non, not fabulous enough!"

"Whatever."

"Hey! Bakugo!" shouted out Eijiro as he approached the group of students. "I was looking to join Todoroki's team, but he's already got four people. So what do you say? Wanna team up?"

"Hey Hair-for-Brains," plainly said Katsuki.

"My name is Eijiro Kirishima! And what do you mean by 'Hair-for-Brains' anyway?"

"'Cause you're a dumbass with big hair."

"Hehe… whatever man. Hey, you still want to team up? I know you want to be a rider, and you need a frontman who can handle your explosions." The spiky redhead hardened his forearm to emphasize his next statement. "My Quirk is called Hardening. It should be enough to tank your blasts and keep the horse together. You still looking to compete with Midoriya, right?"

The sneer on the ashen blond grew as his mind began to go into overdrive, thinking up possible Quirk combinations to put him in the number one spot as the spiky redhead egged him on. With the Hardening teen on his side, he noted two other notable 'extras' while going over the people in his class. "Soy Sauce Face, Weird Hair, follow me. We're getting Air Head on our team."

"Who's Air Head?" Hanta whispered to Eijiro.

"Teikiatsu," answered the spiky redhead.

"Seriously? This team is gonna be OP if she joins."

"If it is, all the more reason to recruit her, right?"

"I mean, I'm just saying. If we get first with this team, I'm all for it."

The short search for the buxom blonde ended when the three boys found her talking to a shorter blonde girl with long horns coming out of her head, large, teal eyes, and hooves in place of her feet, except they couldn't understand what they were saying, since they were both speaking unbroken English.

"You're from Montana?" excitedly asked Sherry with the same jovial tone as she had when she spoke Japanese. "I've never been there before. What's it like? I'm guessing it's nothing like Washington?"

"Well, there's not a lot going on there," responded the shorter blonde. "But there's lots of fields for running. It's so much more different here in Japan. So many more people in a small area and there are more things to do here."

"Do you like it here?"

"I miss home sometimes, but… yeah, I like here!"

"Hey, Air Head!" shouted the explosive teen, interrupting the interaction between the two foreigners. "You're on my team! Get your stupid face over here!"

"Give me a sec, okay Explody-pants?" The taller blonde looked over to the shorter, horse-like teen, completely ignoring the bulging vein on Katsuki's forehead. "You won't mind if I join this hothead's team, do you Pony? He's not going to take 'no' for an answer, anyway."

"That's okay," the shorter blind replied. "He doesn't look like the friendly type, though. Are you sure about that, Sherry?"

"Yeah! He may be the least friendly person I've ever met in my life, buuuut… He's got a lot of drive, so I can't hate his stupid face too much."

"Okay. Good luck. Oh, and um…" The shorter blonde shifted her eyes to the explosive teen to speak to him in a happy tone. "Good luck to you, asshole."

One can almost hear the explosive teen's vein pulsate in anger as the other teens were completely stunned at the shorter blonde girl's statement. Explosions could be heard coming from Katsuki's palms as his anger reached dangerous levels.

"THE FUCK YOU SAY TO ME?!"

"Hey, quiet down over there!" shouted Midnight with a crack of her whip from the stage. "People are trying to strategize!"

"YOU SHU—" The explosive teen's vulgar mouth was covered up by Eijiro's hand as he stopped his teammate from mouthing off to the R-Rated Hero/referee. Meanwhile, Sherry pulled Pony away from the blast zone to confront her about the comment. When she finished the short discussion, she bid the shorter blonde good luck and joined her new teammates with a livid expression.

"What the hell was that about?" addressed Hanta.

"She said a kid named Neito Monoma told her to say that to the blond guy in Class 1-A," spoke Sherry in an angry tone. "Piece of crap is gonna get his ass kicked for corrupting poor Pony."

"Get in line, Air Head!" roared Katsuki. "That blonde bitch is mine!"

"You leave her out if this," growled out the sandy blonde. "Pony didn't know any better. She told me she's still learning proper Japanese right now, so she doesn't know what other people tell her to say sometimes."

"I don't give a shi—"

"Finish that sentence, and you can kiss your chances of getting first place goodbye."

The two blonde's began to clash with one another as their glares began to electrify their surroundings.

 **"You have 10 minutes left!"** announced Midnight.

"Uh… guys?" nervously asked the tape teen.

"I know. I'm just waiting for Mr. Explody-pants to agree to my terms."

And thus began the epic glare-down between Katsuki Bakugo and Sherry Teikiatsu.

 _Meanwhile_

It wasn't that long after the R-Rated Hero had allowed the students to begin choosing her teams that Tooru was beginning to run low with options for her teammates. Mezo, Hajikeru, and Mina were all in different teams, as they were in different areas of the crowd, and she was thankful that Tsuyu had joined her team. That is until Denryoku showed up to join her team, though not under his own volition.

"Utakata asked you to make a team with me?" asked Tooru in confusion.

"He felt you needed the extra support, since this is most likely the best time to showcase your new ability," Denryoku spoke in his usual deadpanned tone.

"What's he talking about, Tooru?" Tsuyu asked with a quiet ribbit at the end of her question.

"Several of your classmates and I have been working on a new ability of Hagakure's over the last two weeks. And judging from your question, I assume she didn't tell you about it, right?"

"I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to surprise everyone here, including our classmates!" responded the invisible teen in Tsuyu's place.

"What exactly is it?" asked the frog teen.

"It's a move that takes advantage of her light-refracting skin by intensifying the light that's emitted during the use of something called a 'Girl's Charm'," replied the electro-teen in a straightforward manner. He received a blank look and a quiet 'ribbit' from the frog girl as a response. "You'll find out when the event gets underway."

"Hey! Vice Rep!" called out a familiar voice. The trio turned to see a teen with bone white skin, hair with the same color as his skin, and a distinct lack of lips with large teeth. "There you are! I was wondering if you still had room for one more."

"Yes, Honenuki," replied the electro-teen. "You just barely made it though. I was considering on getting that one student from the support course." To make his point, Denryoku pointed his thumb towards a short teen with white hair, styled like a colonial powdered wig, and round glasses, carrying around several gadgets with noticeable blinking lights. "I didn't want to invite him, but I also wanted time to strategize with what I have. So, welcome to the team."

"Quick question: Who exactly is the captain of this team?" asked Tsuyu.

"I think it should be Emera," responded Tooru, receiving a blank look from her frog-like friend, a deadpanned look from the grey-eyed teen, and a look of approval from the lipless teen. "He's going to do the bulk of the strategizing anyway, so the team should be under his name."

"I appreciate the nomination, Hagakure, but I'm going to have to decline the offer," rejected Denryoku. "Haji told me himself that you wanted to stand out during the Sports Festival more than anything. I'm simply here to lend a hand." While his tone contained about as much life as a sea star on display at a knick-knack store by the sea, those around him could feel the goodwill in his words towards the invisible girl.

"So it's going to be Team Invisible Person… Awesome! By the way, what are your names?" asked Juzo to the Class 1-A girls. "My name is Juzo Honenuki."

"I'm Tooru Hagakure!" announced the invisible teen.

"Tsuyu Asui," responded the frog teen.

"Good, we all know each other," Denryoku said. "Let's get to business. Let's start with what your Quirks are and what they can do."

 _With Team Bakugo_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So… how long before one of them snaps?" whispered Hanta to Eijiro as the two boys continued to spectate the glaring contest between two of their blond classmates.

"Don't know," replied the spiky redhead. "It better be soon, though. I think we only have a few minutes left."

" **Five minutes left, students!"** announced Midnight.

"You hear that, Mr. Explody-pants?" questioned a defiant Sherry. "One more minute before I join a different team, unless you agree to leave Pony out of our list of targets. Tick tock tick toooock."

The ashen blond clenched his teeth in discontent as he continued to glare at the sandy blonde. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed Sherry as a part of his team in order to get first place. She's already showed herself as more than just another 'extra', as she was up there with Shoto and even Izuku, so he and his team would benefit greatly with her addition.

"Goddamnit," growled out the angry blond. "Fine! I'll leave stupid Sea Biscuit out of this… Fucking Cyclone Bitch…"

"That's all I wanted to hear!" cheerfully responded the sandy blonde, outright ignoring the vulgar insult. "Alright fellas! Let's get to strategizing!"

"Yeah!" responded the two less serious boys.

"Whatever," muttered out the angry blond.

 _Several Minutes Later_

The last few minutes went by without a hitch and now it was time for the next event to be underway.

 **"Alright, your time for team formation and planning is up,"** spoke the R-Rated Hero as she stretched out her arms.

 **"It looks like time is up for planning and team formation, sports fans!"** announced the previously absent Present Mic. **"And now, let's begin the countdown to the Calvary Battle!"**

 **10…!**

"Hehehehe, this plan is perfect," muttered out Minoru from inside Mezo's tented arms, headband around his forehead.

"With my beautiful babies, we'll snag first place no problem," shouted an enthusiastic girl with pink hair and steampunk goggles over her eyes.

"Keep your focus, you two," Mezo said. He was outfitted with large boots with hover capabilities and a line launcher on his shoulder.

 _Team Mineta_

 _Members: Mezo Shouji, Minoru Mineta, Mei Hatsume_

 _Point Value: 360_

 **9…!**

"You guys ready?" Kyoka asked the two boys and one girl carrying her from the front and back.

"Yeah, I'm pumped for this!" Rikido shouted with a confident grin.

Koji frantically nodded, still quiet as ever.

"Let's do this!" shouted Mina.

 _Team Jiro_

 _Members: Rikido Satou, Koji Koda, Kyoka Jiro, Mina Ashido_

 _Point Value: 560_

 **8…!**

"I'll show these pretentious Hero Course students true initiative," the bushy purple haired teen muttered out. The other members of the 'horse' did not respond, as they were completely unresponsive and held no reaction to their surroundings.

 _Team Shinsou_

 _Members: Mashirao Ojiro, Yuga Aoyama, Hitoshi Shinsou, Nerengeki Shoda_

 _Point Value: 310_

 **7…!**

"You ready for this, Tsunotori?" asked a boy with ash grey skin, bright green hair styled in a mohawk, and two large mandibles on either side of his mouth.

"Yes, I am ready for this, Kamakiri," Pony responded, the second member of the team on her back as she was on all fours. She looked over to where Sherry was with her team; looking to get a good look at the first person she could truly interact with since moving to Japan. Said sandy blonde caught sight of her and gave a large wave back before being yelled at by the ashen blond rider. She returned the wave with one of her own and then brought her focus back the game.

 _Team Kamakiri_

 _Members: Pony Tsunotori, Togaru Kamakiri_

 _Point Value: 130_

 **6…!**

"Let's do our best out there, girls!" shouted a girl with burnt-orange hair, styled in a high, side ponytail. The rider received both quiet and loud responses of approval.

 _Team Kendo_

 _Members: Reiko Yanagi, Kinoko Komori, Itsuka Kendo, Setsuna Tokage_

 _Point Value: 315_

 **5…!**

"No mercy, fellas," spoke a slick haired blond boy with grey eyes and white pupils atop his 'horse'. "We'll show Class 1-A that they're all appearance and no substance. They think taking up most of the top spots in the Obstacle Course will gain them merit, but we hung back and observed their Quirks and their usage of them, so that we can come up with a counterstrategy to put them all down."

 _Team Monoma_

 _Members: Kosei Tsuburaba, Sen Kaibara, Neito Monoma, Shihai Kuroiro_

 _Point Value: 365_

 **4…!**

"Remember, we attack hard, then when we have enough to guarantee a spot in the top four, we move to defense," Denryoku stated from the right spot of the 'horse's' rear position.

"You got it Vice Rep," Juzo agreed from his frontman position.

"Got it," replied Tsuyu with a ribbit from the right rear position.

"Okie Dokie!" responded Tooru from the rider position.

 _Team Hagakure_

 _Members: Juzo Honenuki, Tsuyu Asui, Tooru Hagakure, Denryoku Emera_

 _Point Value: 510_

 **3…!**

"Do as I say or I'll kick your ass when this is over!" barked Katsuki to his team.

"Whatever you say, man," responded Eijiro with a toothy smile.

"I'll do my best," Hanta said.

"As long as you hold your end of the deal, I'm at your beck and call, Mr. Explody-pants," casually replied Sherry.

"Goddamn cyclone bitch," muttered out the explosive blond.

 _Team Bakugo_

 _Members: Eijiro Kirishima, Sherry Teikiatsu, Katsuki Bakugo, Hanta Sero_

 _Point Value: 860_

 **2…!**

"We'll collect as many points as we can, but Midoriya is our main objective," plainly spoke Shoto. "You each have your roles."

"Of course," Momo responded, the sleeves of her PE uniform rolled up to the bicep.

"Keep people away with my Quirk, got it," Denki replied.

"Understood," robotically replied Tenya.

 _Team Todoroki_

 _Members: Tenya Iida, Momo Yayorozu, Shoto Todoroki, Denki Kaminari_

 _Point Value: 750_

 **1…!**

"This is it guys," called out Izuku to his team as he tied his extraordinarily valuable headband. "Remember the plan."

"You got it, Deku!" loudly replied Ochako.

"Roger that, Captain!" replied Hajikeru with an eager grin.

"Yeah," plainly responded Fumikage as Dark Shadow emerged from his lower chest area.

 _Team Midoriya_

 _Members: Fumikage Tokoyami, Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, Hajikeru Utakata_

 _Point Value: 10,000,475_

 **START! ! ! !**

 **And the rest of the teams (Because I couldn't fit them all in the countdown. Fail.)**

 _Team Tetsutetsu_

 _Members: Kojiro Bondo, Yoyetsu Awase, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Ibara Shiozaki_

 _Point Value: 700_

 _Team Kodai_

 _Members: Jurota Shishida, Hiryu Rin, Yui Kodai, Manga Fukadashi_

 _Point Value: 230_

 _Team Gakutai_

 _Members: Jiki Kensei, Gakudan Gakutai, Kiji Kensei_

 _Point Value: 75_

 **And that about does it for this one! Things are gonna get spicy next time around! Well, they would if my action writing is up to snuff. Eh, I'll find out when I start writing the next chapter. Bye-ya!**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 4/20/19**

 **This is probably the one chapter that had the fewest fixes to it. Just some dialogue fixes and an additional short passage. Nothing more to it.)**


	8. The UA Sports Festival: Cavalry Battle

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

For the second time that day, it was utter chaos at the Sports Festival. Though this time, it was mostly concentrated on one target.

"Here they come!" shouted Izuku as four teams immediately charged his.

"WE'LL BE THE ONES TO TAKE THE 10 MILLION POINTS, CLASS 1-A!" yelled Tetsutetsu from atop his horse. "BONDO!"

At the front of the iron teen's horse was a large, muscular teen with straw-yellow skin and a head that resembles a glue dispenser. Without uttering a single word, Kojiro expended a large amount of white adhesive-like substance from the holes at the front of his 'face' towards the valuable prize in an attempt to capture the valuable headband.

"Utakata!" called out Izuku as soon as he saw the substance approach his team. The bubble teen to his left quickly made one of his Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubbles and quickly let it float forward with a couple of blows. The bubble exploded with a loud pop and sent the adhesive substance in different directions, promptly landing on several of the teams.

"Ugh! What is this stuff!?" Rikido yelled in disgust as the adhesive solidified around his legs and torso. "I'm stuck!"

"Seriously, Bondo?!" Togaru barked at the adhesive teen as he was splashed with a hefty amount of adhesive along with Pony.

"Cool it, Kamakiri!" Tetsutetsu shouted from his team, his frontman taking most of the blowback. "Can you move, Bondo?" Once again, the large teen remained silent as placed his head onto the hardened adhesive, which then began to revert back to its liquid state and was sucked back into the holes on his face. "I'm never going to get used to that."

"That can't be good," spoke the bubble teen as he and his team began running when they saw the hardened adhesive began to melt off of the previously incapacitated Class 1-B teams. The Class 1-A teams, Team Jiro and Team Mineta, were being bailed out by Team Jiro's Mina as she threw some of her acid onto the inflicted areas of her classmates' horse formation. Except it didn't work in a fast enough manner as their headbands were stolen by Team Monoma via their rider and Team Tetsutetsu's Ibara Shiozaki via one of her hair vines.

"Keep out of their reach and keep from getting too close to the boundaries! As long as we avoid the center, we should be good." Izuku concluded his orders as the Class 1-B teams came at them again. "Tokoyami!"

"Go forth, Dark Shadow!" commanded the falcon-headed teen to his sentient Quirk.

"Yeah!" shouted the crow-shaped shadow mass as he went to defend against the teams ahead of them.

 _With Team Hagakure_

"They're really going hard for those 10 million points aren't they?" Juzo asked his team as he observed the mobile Team Midoriya being chased by his classmates.

"They're going to have a hard time to do so if that many teams are going for those points," spoke Denryoku. "I get that our classmates wants to show they're better than Class 1-A, but since they're all competing with one another, all of them are going to have to step over one another to do it."

"Wow, I had no idea the rivalry between our classes was this nutty," spoke an awed Tooru, the point headband and pants being the only thing visible on her person. Yes, she was basically topless.

"Head's up!" Tsuyu called from Tooru's left side. Barreling at the team of four was a team of three consisting of two General Ed. students and one from the support course.

"Hahahahaha!" cackled the short, white haired rider, his body completely covered in gadgets with various blinking lights and slots. "You fools have encountered the Support Course's Gakudan Gakutai! He attacks with Net gun! What will your move be?!" True to his statement, the gear-head fires off a net that nearly captured the team of four, had it not been for Denryoku's quick command to dodge. "You used Dodge! Smart move. But not smart enough for the Great… Hey get back here! I'm not done yet!"

"He was certainly annoying," plainly stated the frog teen as her team began running from the team of three. "So we're starting the first plan now, Emera?"

"Yeah," responded Denryoku as he began to rub the studs on his left hand together while keeping the right under Tooru's invisible foot. "Get the two-man team pursuing Midoriya and I'll get Team Kendo's attention. Then we can get one more headband to get us to at least 1000 points. Let's begin."

 _Team Bakugo_

"It's not gonna work, Mr. Explody-pants," Sherry lightly argued at the angry blond's idea.

"Shut up, Air Head!" shouted back Katsuki. He released a torrent of explosions from beneath him to get airborne in an attempt to snag the 10 million points from Team Midoriya.

"He'll be back empty handed. Watch," said the sandy blonde to her two other teammates

 _One Failed Attempted at the 10 Million Points Later_

As the angry blond was dragged back to the horse formation by Hanta's tape, he caught a glimpse of the sandy blonde mockingly checking her nails.

"So?" Sherry asked innocently. "How'd it go?"

"Fuck you!" shouted the pissed off explosive teen.

"My, my, such vulgar language to say to a lady," spoke a voice in a clear mocking manner. The next thing Katsuki felt was his point headband being ripped from his forehead, catching his team completely off guard. "But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by such vocabulary from an animal such as yourself."

"The fuck?! Give that back!" roared the angry blond.

"That's not good!" Eijiro called out.

"Oh great, another pompous blond," Sherry muttered under her breath. "Wait a minute…"

"It's very typical of Heroics Students to give it their 100% in everything that they do, even if it's a simple game," the well-kept blond said. "But such thinking is very much foolish, as it gives those of us that sit back and watch a chance to think up of proper counters for your overachieving ideals. 48 qualifying students was more than enough reason to hang back and observe your entire class for counters."

"All of Class 1-B was in on it!?" Hanta asked in shock.

"I wish… Both the Class representative and Vice representative were against it, along with their followers, but several of us was enough to get most of your entire class in a bind. So in short, our plan is working." A snarky smirk was becoming more prominent on the well-kept blond's face. "You shouldn't have announced that you were going to beat everyone here, Katsuki Bakugo. You only garnered more attention to you than originally intended. But… I suppose you simply enjoy being in the spotlight… Just like a year ago in the sludge villain incident."

As the sardonic blond kept on talking with demeaning words, Katsuki could feel his anger bubble its way back up his throat. The veins around his neck began to bulge, his lower jaw was clenched forward, and his red eyes shrank until they were no longer visible.

"Hey," called out the sandy blonde in a dangerous tone, gaining the attention of the sardonic blond. "What's your name?"

"An odd question to ask in the middle of a battlefield, but I shall enlighten you," responded the gray-eyed blond as his team trotted away. "My name is Neito Monoma. Remember it well."

Sherry's eyes shrank slightly at the name as her mouth began to take the appearance of a snarl. This was the same person that was corrupting the small girl she had a nice conversation with in both their native languages. In a way, she reminded the sandy blonde of herself when she first moved to Japan so many years ago, when she didn't know anything of the language and so little about the culture outside of several anime that air on Saturday mornings and manga that her dad sometimes brings home. She had her fair share of children and upper classmen telling her incorrect or inappropriate sayings to others, so she was very defensive when it was done to others.

"Hey, Bakugo," Sherry addressed in a frighteningly pissed voice, now gaining the attention of her spiky, blond team captain. Said blond was already emitting a dark aura around him as he lent an ear to his other blonde teammate. "As much as I want to kick this guy's ass, since you're the only one that can leave the formation, I want you to do me a favor."

"Say it, Air-Head," growled out Katsuki, explosions popping from his palms.

A vicious grin made its way onto the usually cheerful sandy blonde and an aura as frightening as Katsuki's surrounded her as she hissed out her shortened request. "Kill his ass. And leave nothing left of him."

"NOW YOU'RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!" roared out the explosive teen with his own vicious grin as he rocketed towards Team Monoma, his teammates not far behind.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to think Sherry wasn't a waste of space.

 _Team Hagakure_

"Emera!" shouted Class 1-B's class representative as she and her team chased after Denryoku's team. "Get back here! We don't appreciate being shocked like that!" The Vice Representative of Class 1-B simply gave a thumbs up as a response as he looked back, putting confusion on the all-girls team.

"Alright, I've got the two-man team's attention, Emera," Tsuyu said with her tongue slightly out. "What's next?"

"We turn the horse around," stated the electro-teen, the other members doing as he said it. "And no matter what, don't look at Hagakure. You're up."

"Alright," responded the invisible girl. Time seemed to have slowed time around her as she began to concentrate.

'Imagine a stream of memories, many flowing by, some you want to keep, some you need to keep… And some you will cherish for life…' Many memories flowed past her in the imaginary stream, ranging from seeing her reflection as a child, to manifesting her Quirk, to the time she helped her friends in grade school by pretending to be a ghost to scare some bullies, to making many good friends at U.A. She picked up the last memory with a tender touch, observing its contents for everything she was thankful for. Izuku's willingness to help her, despite being nervous about talking to her, Tenya's invigorating, yet sometimes robotic words, Mina's outwardly positive attitude that so complimented her own cheerful personality, Mezo's intimidating, yet calming presence, Ochako's bubbly personality and willingness to help people equal to Izuku's, and Hajikeru's ceaseless words of encouragement despite the rough patches she's run into.

'There's my happy thought,' internally spoke Tooru. The memories in her hands began to glow a bright, shimmering light, gradually intensifying until it was almost blinding.

Back in the battlegrounds, a light began to shine a bright yellow around the invisible girl. Like a beacon in the dead of night, she illuminated the entire stadium with her new ability.

"Hi, everyone!" yelled out Tooru to everyone present. "I'm Tooru Hagakure! It's very nice to meet you all!"

She was met with a deafening 'sqeeeee' from the audience and many of the teams that turned to see what was happening were swooning over how cute she was. Even the commentators and the referee were head-over-heels for her.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed the R-Rated Hero. "She's absolutely adorable! I want to take her home with me!"

 **"THAT IS THE CUTEST DISPLAY I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"** shouted Present Mic. **"WHAT ABOUT YOU, MUMMY MAN? ISN'T SHE JUST A DOLL!?"**

 **"She gave off an impressive distraction,"** droned on the Eraser Hero, his light blush hidden under his bandages.

Figurative cold water was dumped on Team Kendo, Team Kamakiri, and Team Gakutai as they discovered not only were their headbands missing, but they were steadily sinking into the ground.

"What the?!" shouted Setsuna as she and her team continued sinking into the ground until the 'horse' was waist deep in softened cement. "When did Vice Rep get our headband, Itsuka?"

"He must have gotten it when we were distracted by that girl," Itsuka said. "Mgh! I want to be mad, but I'm happy I got to see something so darn adorable! I'm so confused!"

"I'm impressed, Tooru," Tsuyu said with a subtle smile as she and her team ran from the other teams. "I did not expect that from you."

"Hehehe, thanks, Tsu," giggled out the invisible girl. "You can thank everyone who helped me bring it out. They're the real reason why I'm can do it in the first place."

"Save the explanations for later," commanded Denryoku. "We're targets now. We can get one more headband to guarantee our position in the top four."

"Very impressive, miss," droned out a voice.

"Oh, thanks, whoev—" Tooru never finished her sentence as she suddenly locked up, immediately causing her teammates to be on their guard.

"Tooru?" asked Tsuyu in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I'll be taking those points now, Hero Course."

 _Meanwhile_

 **"And now for the rankings in the Cavalry Battle!" shouted the Voice Hero.**

 **1st. (A) Team Midoriya 10,000,475 P**

 **2nd. (B) Team Monoma 1,785 P**

 **3rd. (B) Team Tetsutetsu 1,060 P**

 **4th. (A) Team Hagakure 1,030 P**

 **5th. (A) Team Todoroki 750 P**

 **6th. (C) Team Shinsou 540 P**

 **7th. (H) Team Gakutai 0 P**

 **8th. (A) Team Jiro 0 P**

 **9th. (A) Team Bakugo 0 P**

 **10th. (B) Team Kendo 0 P**

 **11th. (B) Team Pony 0 P**

 **12th. (A) Team Mineta 0 P**

 **13th. (B) Team Kodai 0 P**

 **"Looks like we have a mix of Class 1-A and Class 1-B in the top spots! But we still have 5 minutes before we can call it! THIS IS WHERE IT GETS HOT, SPORTS FANS!"**

 _Team Midoriya_

"Tch, I wondering when they would show up," spoke up Hajikeru. He and his team had finally encountered their main threat of the Cavalry Battle, a four man team that included the very person that declared his own war on Izuku.

Team Todoroki is on the move… along with several other teams looking to get back into the game.

"Those are the top targets in Class 1-A!" Tetsutetsu roared from his team. "We take them out; we get a guaranteed spot in the tournament!"

"We may have lost our points in the beginning of the game, but that only gave us time to think of another strategy!" shouted Minoru from inside Mezo's arms. "Shouji, Attack Mode!" At the command, the tent formation that the multi-armed teen's arms were previously in opened up to show Minoru and Mei, the latter making slight adjustments to a jetpack by turning a few knobs.

"Time to showcase what my babies can do!" yelled a giddy Mei as she prepared her jetpack.

"Iida, get going," commanded Shoto to his frontman. He received a quick 'okay' from the speedy teen as a response.

"Yaororozu, prepare the materials for our defenses and the insulator."

"Got it," replied Momo.

"Kaminari, you need to—"

"Yeah, yeah, shock 'em to oblivion when Yaoyorozu is ready," interrupted Denki.

"Get some distance away from them!" ordered Izuku to his teammates.

"Ready!" Momo said with a newly made, insulated cloak.

"Alright, here goes!" called out Denki. "Indiscriminate Shock…"

"Tokoyami!" Izuku yelled. In response, Dark Shadow spread itself far enough to cover the entirety of Team Midoriya from the incoming attack.

"…1.3 Million Volts!"

A massive surge of electricity violently came forth from the electric teen; temporarily paralyzing the surrounding teams save for Team Midoriya. As soon as Denki finished his wide-scale attack, Shoto grabbed the metal rod from Momo to use as a conduit for his Ice Quirk. He then froze all the teams behind them in place and proceeded to take Team Tetsutetsu's headbands, as they were the only one's present with a headband.

"You bastards!" Tetsutetsu roared from where his team was frozen in place. "Get back here with our points!"

"You won't be needing these anyway," muttered Shoto as he fastened the extra headbands around his neck. His team was heading towards Team Izuku with the intention of taking their valuable headband.

"Here they come," Izuku said. "Tokoyami, is Dark Shadow alright?"

"He can still fight, if that's what you mean," replied the bird teen. His Quirk, while looking the same as always, appeared to be moving lightly sluggish, but it was difficult to tell unless you were standing right next to it. "I'll try to keep him away as much as I can." Fumikage then ordered Dark Shadow to throw one of its claws towards Team Todoroki.

"Yaoyorozu!" As soon as Shoto called out Momo, she created a large paddle made of a stone-like material to intercept the shadowy crow. The bird-teen grit his teeth in frustration, while the creation teen smirked in accomplishment.

"That Creation Quirk is going to be difficult to bypass," muttered Izuku to his team as Dark Shadow returned.

"No…" responded Fumikage. "Kaminari is going to be the real problem here. Dark Shadow is vulnerable to bright light. I won't be able to attack or defend as well as I have been if he keeps it up."

"How much more can Dark Shadow take before he becomes helpless, Tokoyami?" Hajikeru asked with a tense tone in his voice.

"He should be able to last the five minutes, but Kaminari might cut that short if he can still use his Quirk."

"Maybe, but Todoroki and the others don't know about his weakness, right?" questioned the meek teen. "Did you tell anyone else about it?"

"Only Koda," Fumikage spoke. "It was back during the USJ Incident and I trust he won't say anything of it."

"Good." Izuku gained a look of confidence as he gazed at Shoto and his team. "As long as they don't know about it. We need to hold out until time runs out. Utakata, be ready to make some Pressure Bubbles if they get too close."

"You got it, boss," replied the bubble teen, blowing a half blown bubble but not letting it off his lips. It was as Present Mic said. The last 5 minutes are the hottest in the game.

 _Team Bakugo_

It was one pain in the ass after another for Team Bakugo. After launching haphazardly from his team formation to steal back his team's points and then some, Katsuki hit a solid mass of white that was blown by a teen with dull orange hair. He felt a hard slap on his head and went to counterattack with a palm explosion, only to be blown backward by an explosion very similar to his own. As he fell back, his confused team managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Was that an Explosion Quirk?" questioned Hanta.

"It looked exactly like Bakugo's," Eijiro observed as his team's captain got up from the blast, even more livid than ever.

"Impressive Quirk," commented Neito. "I can see where your animalistic tendencies come from. One can get carried away with this much power."

"That's my goddamn Quirk," growled out Katsuki before roaring at the guy who 'stole' his Quirk with an explosion laced right hand. At the same time, Neito lightly tapped the spiky redhead's hair to repeat what he did with the ashen blond. "YOU BASTARD!"

But as the smoke cleared from the violent explosion, Neito appeared to be unscathed, save for his uncomfortably familiar rocky appearance.

"This is quite useful too," Neito replied.

"Oh, great!" Sherry growled in irritation. "He can do that too?!"

"What the hell?!" Eijiro shouted in shock. "That's my Quirk! How does he have more than one Quirk!?"

"Dumbass," growled out Katsuki as he wiped his cheek of the burn mark from his own Explosion Quirk. "This bastard is just a copy-cat."

The grey-eyed blond simply smiled at the ashen blond's observation. "That's right. But a simple animal should have been able to figure it out, so I'm not surprised you did. Kuroiro, send them on their way." Said teen with ink black skin and white hair set one of his feet forward and an inky black path shot towards Team Bakugo. Once the black path made contact with the formation they felt themselves being dragged backwards, away from Team Monoma. The path finally disappeared after about 10 meters.

"Don't feel too bad about this!" called Neito from across the field. "You brought this upon yourself with your pledge to beat everyone! Now you're nothing but an embarrassment to yourself and your class. Congratulations are in order for that!"

"Oh, fuck no…" growled out Katsuki.

Like before, he launched himself from the horse formation, much to his team's chagrin, in an effort to steal back his points. Also like before, the same teen with the 'air wall' made a circular barrier, as opposed to the crescent shaped one before, to block the angry blond. Unlike before, however, Katsuki drew his arm back and smashed through the invisible barrier. By doing this, he succeeded in taking two of the three headbands around Neito's neck, much to the sardonic blond's displeasure. Katsuki was then dragged back to his team via Hanta's tape.

"Give us some warning before you do something like that for once!" Hanta shouted angrily.

"It doesn't matter. We're moving on to the next round with those points!" Eijiro commented.

"We're not done with that jerk yet!" Sherry shouted with her angry aura still around her. "He still has points on him! I want him on the ground crying in humiliation when this is over! Bakugo! Sero! Kirishima! Get ready! I'm gonna get you close in a flash!"

"Who put you in charge, Air-Head?!" shouted the explosive teen.

"Just shut up and get ready to take the headband! Here goes…" Swirling wind began to gather around the sandy blonde's legs, gradually gaining rotational speed and size. "Gale Storm…"

Seeing what insane plan his blonde teammate was brewing, Katsuki held out his left arm and prepared a large explosion to balance out the extreme change in speed that was about to occur. Both Hanta and Eijiro could only hang for dear life for what would happen next.

"…Category 3!"

With a combination of high velocity wind and a violent explosion, Team Bakugo rocketed past Team Monoma, successful in capturing the point headband and reducing their point count to zero.

 **"TEAM BAKUGO HAVE REDUCED TEAM MONOMA TO ZERO POINTS IN A MATTER OF SECONDS! THAT'S THE KIND OF SAVAGERY YOU ONLY SEE IN THE JUNGLE, FOLKS!"** screeched Present Mic.

 **"Once he sets his sights on something or someone, there's hardly anyone who can entirely stop him,"** Eraserhead commented. **"That's one of the most dangerous qualities about Bakugo."**

Sherry, having taken a look at the defeated look on Neito's face, began to laugh in victory. "Hahaha… Sucks to be him."

"We're not done yet," Katsuki said, still looking as tense as ever. "We're going after Deku and Icy-Hot."

 _Team Hagakure_

"C'mon, Tooru! Say something!" Tsuyu desperately pleaded. Her invisible friend had been silent and still for a while.

It happened right after she replied to Hitoshi's vague compliment and both Juzo and Tsuyu were confused as to what happened. Luckily, Denryoku knew what was happening.

"Guys," quietly called out the electro teen, just loud enough for them to hear. "Whatever you do, do not reply to anything that guy says. He can brainwash you if you verbally respond to him."

"How do you know this, Vice Rep?" asked Juzo.

"Tell you later. Just stay quiet for now, and soften the cement around him. Do it 2 meters out from his position and make it 3 meters wide. Even if his team is physically fit, they won't be clearing something that long. Asui, when I snap Hagakure out of her brainwashing, go for one of his headbands. If he retaliates, I'll give you an opening to go again."

"Okay," the frog girl replied with a quiet ribbit.

"What exactly are you discussing?" questioned Hitoshi from his brainwashed team formation. "Are you preparing something to fight back against me?" He was met with silence from the other team. "I suppose I should have known better than to underestimate the hero course. Always planning, always getting into trouble. How pathetic for you two to get caught up with villains in the first week of school. How did it feel to be helpless? Some heroes you lot turned out to be."

Denryoku expected his frog-like teammate to be trembling in anger, as she was there during the USJ Incident, but saw no change from the usual vacant stare from when they first met. He assumed she was simply holding in all her emotions, but then again she didn't show any evidence to support his assumption.

"Doesn't matter anyway," Hitoshi muttered before referring to the invisible girl under his control. "You. Throw yourself down and land on your left knee."

Seeing Tooru about to perform the action, Tsuyu turned to look at Denryoku to see if it was time to begin the short and simple plan of stealing Team Shinsou's points. The electro-teen subtly smirked and sent an electric shock through Tooru's feet. A loud yelp came out of the invisible girl's mouth as she snapped out of her brainwashing and straightened herself up, much to Hitoshi's annoyance.

"Aaagh!" shouted Tooru. "What happened?! Why was everything fuzzy!? Wait, did that jerk tell me to land on my knee?! You're despicable! I could have broken my kneecap!"

At the same time, Tsuyu shot her tongue towards one of Hitoshi's headbands around his neck. He quickly ordered his brainwashed team to dodge the attack, but then found his team sinking into the soften cement until they were waste deep. The purple haired teen swore when his horse formation was rendered completely immobile. Seeing Tsuyu once again sent her tongue forward, Hitoshi went to protect his headbands by covering them with his arms when he suddenly felt an intense, electrifying feeling in both of his arms. This caused his arms to spasm and become rendered unresponsive for a brief moment, but it was enough time for Tsuyu to snatch the headbands around his neck. Unless he had a way to get out of the softened cement, Hitoshi was finished in the Sports Festival.

With that obstacle conquered, Team Hagakure went to put distance between them and Team Shinsou, and enact their defensive tactics.

"Underhanded tactics," Histoshi yelled after them. "I shouldn't have expected better from a bunch of cowardly, wannabe heroes!"

As Tooru was about to yell back at the purpled haired teen, she was mildly shocked again by Denryoku. The headband around her head turned to the electro teen to ask why he shocked her foot, only to see him with a studded finger to his lips and shaking his head. She wanted to ask why she needed to stay quiet, but she was interrupted by the brainwashing teen.

"Such incredible Quirks you all have! You must have been very lucky to have such Quirks! You get to follow your dreams, while I have to work a mountain to get to where I am! You lot wouldn't know anything about hard work! You've been blessed with such talent since birth!"

As Team Hagakure put more and more distance away from Team Shinsou, they all wanted to put some thought into what he said, some more than others, but they first had to finish this event and move on to the next round.

 _Team Midoriya_

For the past few minutes, Team Midoriya and Team Todoroki have been at each other's throats with neither taking the advantage. Every time Denki used his Indiscriminate Shock, Dark Shadow was there to protect the team from being paralyzed. Every time Dark Shadow went to attack, Momo was there to stop it in its tracks with a created object. Every time Tenya used his Engine Boost to get them close, he was either sent back by one of Hajikeru's Pressure Bubbles or the team would dodge him entirely with a combination of Hajikeru's and Ochako's Quirk. Each team had a counter for whatever was thrown at them and it was beginning to wear them down.

'He's been keeping his distance and staying on my left side,' observed Shoto. 'That way the only way to freeze him in place is to freeze Iida too, something I can't afford to do. It makes him a better shot for Kaminari to shock him, but with Dark Shadow around he can afford to pull off something that risky. And when we do close the distance between us, Utakata always sends us back with his bubbles. On top of all that, I can't use my ice as much as I want. Otherwise I would have to rely on my bastard dad's Quirk. There's only a minute left.'

Tenya called for his team's attention. "Everyone, I just wanted to inform you all that what I'm about to will render me useless for what remains of the game. But it should get us the points from Midoriya." The half-white, half-redhead looked at his frontman with a questioning gaze. "I'll leave everything to you then."

From across the makeshift ice arena, both Izuku and Hajikeru were wondering why their next opponents were taking so long to make their next move.

"They're way too quiet right now, Midoriya," Hajikeru said through narrow eyes.

"Yeah," Izuku replied. "They would have launched another attack by now. What are they planning? ... Tokoyami, keep Dark Shadow on the defensive. Utakata, prepare one of your Pressure Bubbles. Uraraka, make us weightless just in case." Each team member gave their own form of agreement, albeit some lacked a lot of energy.

Their preparation and caution was all for naught.

"Here goes," the speedy teen called out. "Overclock…" The exhaust pipes coming out of his legs were spouting out a solid stream of blue flame, similar to that of a welding torch.

"RECIPRO-BURST!"

It had all happened in an instant. One second, Team Todoroki was in front of them. The next, they were behind them and with their valuable headband. They even turned quite a bit from the air displacement that Tenya left behind, but their shocked expressions hardly changed. However, one set of eyes stayed glued to the team that took their points, carefully observing a little detail that mostly remained unnoticed to his team.

"Iida," addressed Shoto as he tied his newly added headband around his neck. "What was that?"

"I ramped up the torque and RPM in my legs to a dangerously high degree," explained Tenya as the exhaust pipes on his legs began to emit a cloud of black smoke. "It temporarily stalls my engines, but the benefits of it speak for themselves." He then called out to Izuku and his team. "How was that, you two!?"

"We need to get the points back! Now!" Izuku shouted over the now roaring crowd.

"I can't get close with Kaminari there," Fumikage countered, Dark Shadow looking submitted next to him. "The best option right now is to get some points from someone else."

"There's no time! There's too much of a point difference between everyone else! This is our only option!"

"Then let's go!" Ochako shouted, getting the team formation to jerk forward. "We'll get back those points, Deku! Without a doubt!"

Izuku looked back to his brunette friend in surprise of her tenacity. "Uraraka…"

"And besides," Hajikeru added, getting the meek teen to look in his direction. "I'm on to their little trick. Turning their headbands inside out and shuffling them is a great tactic, but if someone is watching you shuffle them, then it's all for nothing!"

"Which one is it, Utakata?" questioned Izuku. The bubble teen smirked and told him, to Team Todoroki's unknowing ears.

"Alright, let's get it back!" Izuku drew his arm back, charging up a small amount of One-for-All, as his team approached Shoto's. When Tenya went to move out of the way of the charge, he stopped in response to his leg's engines not responding. At the same time, Shoto lifted up his left arm to defend against the approaching green-haired teen, unintentionally flaring up his left side.

Once Izuku was within striking distance he threw his hand to the right, creating a massive wind pressure that snuffed out Shoto's flame. Using his opponent's confusion to his advantage, Izuku went after one of the three headbands around Shoto's neck. He recalled what his bubble-blowing teammate said during the charge.

'Middle of the three.'

With a yell, Izuku ripped off the middle headband with authority. He checked the headband to be perfectly sure and felt elated when he saw the multiple zeros on the head band.

"I got it!" shouted Izuku, much to the audience's pleasure.

 **"WE HAVE A MIRACULOUS RECOVERY BY TEAM MIDORIYA!"** screeched out Present Mic. **"AFTER GETTING THEIR POINTS STOLEN BY TEAM TODOROKI, TEAM MIDORIYA MANAGED TO PULL OFF A MIRACLE AND STEAL BACK THEIR POINTS! THERE'S 10 SECONDS LEFT IN THIS WILD RIDE OF A CAVALRY BATTLE!"**

Most of Team Todoroki were gritting their teeth in disdain and frustration in seeing their tactic only worked for a short time, while one of them had a dopey face as a result of overusing his Quirk.

Charging through the ice barrier surrounding the two teams was Team Bakugo, with the leader busting through with his explosive palms.

"Deku!" shouted Katsuki as he launched himself from his team. "Those 10 million points are mine!"

"Utakata!" Izuku shouted to his teammate in panic. He would have asked Tokoyami to defend, but the falcon-headed teen's Quirk was looking shy and submissive, a shadow of its former self, pun intended.

Hajikeru, being caught off guard from Katsuki's sudden appearance, snapped out of his surprise to do as his captain says. Seeing as the explosive teen was getting closer and his large bubble wasn't ready, he opted to make a smaller bubble to move his team out of the way. But he and his team caught a lucky break in the form of the Voice Hero's announcement.

 **"TIME'S UP!"**

At the sound of Present Mic's voice, the angry blond fell to the ground with an audible thud, Team Midoriya relaxed for the first time since the game began, Team Shoto mostly grimaced, with Denki being the only one completely unaware of what's going on, and the remainder of Team Bakugo collective exhaled in satisfaction.

 **"And that wraps up the wild ride that was the Cavalry Battle, Sports fans! In First place, making things super dicey at the end, but managing to hang on to their 1st place position: it's Team Midoriya!"**

The team in question was celebrating their victory with Hajikeru giving excited high fives to his fellow teammates and Ochako holding onto Izuku in a celebratory hug as she saw her team's point count. Izuku, on the other hand, completely shut down with a crimson face after he felt his brunette friend, a girl, nonetheless, hold him to her chest. The rest of the team either quietly chuckled or straight up laughed at the greenette's expense.

 **"In Second place, making an incredible effort for the 10 million points, but coming up unlucky in the end: Team Todoroki!"**

"Wheeeeeeeey," bumbled out Denki with his thumbs up, still looking dopey from going over his limit.

"I humbly apologize for being useless at the very end!" Tenya loudly said with a sharp bow.

"Well, second place isn't bad," Momo said as she buttoned up her PE shirt and rolled her sleeves back down.

Shoto simply gazed at his left hand in disdain, feeling completely disappointed in himself for allowing his Flame Quirk to show itself in combat.

 **"In Third Place, with an impressive show of savagery that this Sports Festival only sees in a blue moon: it's Team Bakugo!"**

"Damn iiiiiiiiiiiit!" roared the crouched over explosive teen.

"I mean it's not first or second, but at least we're moving on," Hanta said in satisfaction.

"Sure, but I don't think Bakugo is satisfied with just passing," Eijiro said as his team captain let out another roar.

"All I got to say is you boys better watch it in the tournament," off-handedly said Sherry. "Just because we were teammates, don't think I'm gonna go easy on you."

The spiky redhead chuckled in response while the tape teen nervously laughed at the thought of fighting either of his blond teammates in the upcoming tournament portion of the Sports Festival.

 **"And in Fourth place is the unlikely combination of Class 1-A and Class 1-B, Team Hagakure!"**

The crowd gave out a deafening cheer for the team, though it was more directed towards Tooru for her shining display.

"Looks like we're the only ones from 1-B moving on, huh Vice Rep?" asked Juzo.

"Looks like it," Denryoku plainly replied.

"You doing okay, Tooru?" Tsuyu asked her invisible friend. She had hardly said anything when they had gotten some distance from Team Shinsou and moved on to their defensive plan.

"Yeah, I'm just… a little shaken up by what that guy said," the invisible girl answered, referring to what Hitoshi said about being naturally blessed with powerful Quirks.

"Don't let him get to you," spoke up the electro teen. Both girls turned to the deadpanned teen to hear what he wants to say. "His objective was to get a rise out of any of us, but don't think for a minute that you just got your Quirk to work from simple night of fiddling around with it. There's a level of depth to everyone's Quirk that no one else can understand better than you can."

"But what about my 'shine' ability? You and Midoriya figured it out in a few minutes when I couldn't understand was it was my entire life."

"We broke it down from an outsider's point of view, but neither of us, nor anyone else that helped you hone it, knew how it worked for you. For it to work the way you want it completely depends on you. What you did today caught everyone off guard, and it was because you made it happen. Not me, not Midoriya. Not anyone else. Just you."

As much as she appreciated Denryoku's kind(?) words, it didn't make the invisible girl feel any better about herself.

 **"These four teams will move on to the final event! We'll be taking a one hour break before moving on with the festivities, so enjoy what the Sports Festival has to offer before coming back for what you're really here for! See ya then! Let's get some food, Mummy-man."**

 **"Bring me back something light. I'm taking a nap,"** the Erasure Hero replied as he climbed into his yellow sleeping bag.

 _Outside the U.A. Stadium_

"Congrats on getting first place, guys," Tsuyu said to Hajikeru and Ochako as the students made their way out of the stadium.

"Thanks, Tsu!" replied Hajikeru and Ochako simultaneously as the latter went to hug her friend.

"Honestly, I don't think we could have cut it any closer than we did," Hajikeru said in a rough voice before coughing into his fist.

"You definitely surprised us with that charge and we didn't think Midoriya would go for any headband other than the first one," Tenya said as he approached the group of friends.

"Iida!" Ochako exclaimed as she released Tsuyu to shout at her speedy friend. "That move was completely unfair! I had no idea you can move that fast!"

"It was a secret technique, so of course I kept a secret from everyone. And it's not a matter of fairness. I simply wanted to prove I can go toe to toe with Midoriya." Ochako simply pouted at him before realizing the meek teen in question was missing from their sight.

"Hey, speaking of Deku, where is he?"

"He went with Todoroki somewhere," Hajikeru replied.

"What for?" asked Tenya.

"I dunno, but he had that icy stare when he asked him."

"Todoroki always has that look in his eye, though," added Tsuyu with a ribbit.

"Oh yeah, good point," the bubble teen snorted. "But he did say he was going to meet us at the cafeteria when he was done."

"Well, as long as he doesn't take long," Ochako responded. "We only have an hour break and I don't want him to miss out on the cool stuff they could have here."

"Agreed!" Tenya yelled, getting the other student's attention. "We shall patiently wait for him to finish his business with Todoroki, and enjoy the festivities U.A. has to offer with the remaining time before the next event!"

'I just wonder what those two could be discussing,' thought the bubble teen.

 _With Izuku_

"Are you really All Might's secret love child or something?"

…

'Am I… WHAT?!'

 **And that about does it! I'm honestly surprised over how quickly I managed to make this chapter. (Though to be fair, there are bound to be mistakes or things I'm not entirely satisfied with, but I could always fix it in post... You know, when I have the patience to look over... what is it? like 50,000 words I put into this one fanfic? Oi... I really need less free time). Anyway, rant over. Also, I've been bouncing an idea in my head for another fanfic for a while now, but I mainly focused on this one because I have too many ideas I want to do for the Tournament portion of the Sports Festival. So maybe you'll see it in the coming months, but I want to finish the Sports Festival Arc before I could set it out. Okay, now I'm done. Sayonara!**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 7/1/18: Added a passage that was missing for one reason or another. Also I'm in the process of writing the first round of the tournament, but I think I need to split it in two parts to keep it from going over 10,000 words. Just an update. Sorry about that. _')**

 **(Edit: 4/21/19**

 **OKAY! I decided to add a little bit of extra writing during the Team Shinsou/Team Hagakure bit. Some minor fixes. And I removed the AN that was up there from many months ago… Yeah, I don't touch these chapters after uploading them unless it's within a 48 hour time period or unless I got writer's block and I need to do something productive. Yeah, that's it for me.)**


	9. The UA SF: The Tournament Round 1 Part 1

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _After Break Time_

 **"WELCOME BACK, SPORTS FANS!"** announced Present Mic, his words slightly muffled from the food in his mouth.

 **"Finish whatever you're eating before doing your job, Mic,"** berated the Eraser Hero, who of which the Voice Hero ignored.

 **"Before we get to the Tournament portion of the Sports Festival, we've got something special for everyone! The Sports Festival wouldn't be a sports festival without fun, competitive activities! As they're going on, we'll be having cheerleaders from America getting you pumped up!"** It was then both commentators in the booth noticed a second team wearing cheerleader uniforms. **"Hm? Hold on…"**

Down on the field, clad in orange and white tops with green stripes, orange skirt, and yellow pompoms, were the girls of Class 1-A. Most of them were wearing a look of betrayal and mortification as they stood in front of the audience and their fellow students, while the rest of them had an unreadable expression.

 **"Looks like Class 1-A wants to get in on the action, too! I don't remember anyone approving their participation, but we'll allow it!"**

Across from the Class 1-A girls were Denki and Minoru, both blushing and giving each other two thumbs up in accomplishment.

"I can't believe you two tricked us into doing this!" Momo shouted to the two boys.

"Oh relax, Yaoyorozu," Sherry spoke to the creation girl, who was currently slumped over in defeat. "At least Present Mic allowed us to participate! It's no big deal!"

"That doesn't really make being tricked by those stupid perverts any better, Teikiatsu," Kyokas shot back as she threw her pompoms at the perverted duo. "You better watch your backs from now on, you pricks!"

"Well, we still have time before the Tournament, and I kinda like these uniforms, sooo…" Tooru spoke with hyperactive energy. "How about we just roll with it!"

"WHAT!?"

"Hagakure's right!" excitedly exclaimed Sherry. "Let's show those cheerleaders that Class 1-A are no scrubs when it comes to pep and cheering! And pose! Pose! Pose!" Both Tooru and Sherry then proceeded to make various cheer poses, much to the surrounding student's amusement.

"You two are really enjoying this, huh?" Tsuyu asked.

 **"Before we get to the fun activities, however,"** the Voice Hero interjected. **"Let's go over the bracket for the tournament! It's your classic one-on-one battles between all 16 qualifiers! Midnight will take over from here while I finish this takoyaki! Take it away, Midnight!"**

'Leaving me to address the students while you goof off again, eh Mic?' sinisterly thought Midnight. 'He's getting 14 across the ass when this is over.' Begrudgingly, she switched on her microphone as she picked up a ballot box filled with the names of the qualifying students. **"Alright! The matches will be decided by lottery. We will discuss the rules of the tournament after the fun activities. For the qualifying 16, you're free to decide if you want to participate in the activities or not. Now then, let's start with Team—"**

"Excuse me, Ms. Midnight!" Tooru called out from the crowd of students, receiving many questioning looks from her classmates.

 **"Yes! The adorable bundle of sunshine from the Cavalry Battle! What can I do for you?"**

"I would like to withdraw from the tournament, please!"

Many outbursts came from her fellow classmates protesting her decision, but several of them stayed silent. They knew the invisible girl wouldn't change her mind, not after she personally pulled them to the side to tell them her reason for it.

 _During the Break_

 _"Thanks for coming, guys," Tooru said to her three friends, her usual pep absent. The quartet of friends was under a tree a ways away from the many booths present outside the U.A. Stadium._

 _"It must be important if you had to lead us all the way out here, Tooru," said Mina._

 _"What exactly is on your mind?" Mezo asked interested as to why he was called along with Hajikeru and Mina._

 _"Well…" The invisible girl fidgeted under the curious gazes of her friends. "I… I'm thinking about dropping out of the tournament."_

 _"What?! Why?!" The acid girl was beyond shocked to hear one of her closest friends was considering walking away from an opportunity to show what she can do to the Pros. "This is your chance to show what you can do to the Pros and you want to walk away from that?!"_

 _"Pull it back a sec, Ashido," Hajikeru spoke, his voice sounding more serious than normal. "Hagakure, what made you consider this?"_

 _"It's… a little hard to explain," slowly explained Tooru. "But… I feel like I haven't… worked for this enough?"_

 _"I get that you were nervous before the Obstacle Course event, but there has to be more to this than simply saying you haven't worked hard enough," Mezo reasoned. "Besides, the past two weeks contradict what you're trying to say, Hagakure."_

 _"You sure you're not just scared of facing our classmates in the tournament, girl?" Mina questioned._

 _"I mean… its part of it. Bakugo and Todoroki are definitely super scary, but that's not why."_

 _While they couldn't see any distress from the lack of a face in the invisible girl, those that knew her know how her voice sounds like when she talked normally. And right now she sounded defeated, like she got swept in a round of volleyball._

 _"Did something happen in the Cavalry Battle?" the bubble teen asked cautiously. "Did Denryo say something out of line? If he did, I'm sorry. He can be really blunt someti—"_

 _"Emera didn't say anything bad, Utakata," interrupted Tooru. "I think he actually comfort me a little bit when it was over, but I'm not so sure. I'm still thinking about what that brainwashing guy said, though."_

 _"What brainwashing guy?" the acid teen asked._

 _"The guy that declared war on our class a few weeks ago," answered the bubble teen. "What exactly did he tell you, Hagakure?"_

 _Tooru remained silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts then recalled Hitoshi's words using her own. "He said something about people like us must feel blessed for having naturally powerful Quirks at birth and that we don't know anything about hard work. I just… I don't know how to process why someone would say that. Everyone here worked so hard to get here and he thinks everyone here was just born to be in the Hero course."_

 _"Well that's a load of crap." Hajikeru was met with three looks of mild surprise from the trio in front of him (_ _ **technically two, but you get the point**_ _). "I'm not sure about everyone else but I know for sure that if certain people were born to be in the Hero Course here at U.A., then that would mean I was never meant to be here in the first place."_

 _The looks the trio had on their face upgraded to shock at what their friend just said._

 _"What do you mean, Utakata?" Mezo asked using one of his extra arms. "From what you've shown of your Quirk, I find what you're saying a bit hard to believe."_

 _"Yeah, Utakata!" Mina exclaimed. "How can you say you don't deserve to be here? You're super capable like the rest of us!"_

 _"I appreciate it, guys," the bubble teen said. "But what you've seen of my Quirk isn't its actual power. What you're seeing is a work around my Quirk's limitations."_

 _"A work around?" Tooru asked in confusion._

 _Hajikeru nodded before he continued._

 _"There's a reason why the name of my Quirk is called Bubble Breath instead of Bubble Grenade or Bubble Pop or something like that. When I was way younger, the strongest my Quirk could get was increasing the number of bubbles I could make in a single breath. It wasn't anything like what you see now. I wanted to be a Hero so badly, even with a Quirk as weak as mine, but I knew that it was going to be nearly impossible if I just stuck to my baseline power. So instead of just sticking to what I was good at, I decided to do try something different with my Quirk."_

 _"To make your exploding bubbles, right?" the invisible girl asked._

 _"They're actually called Pressure bubbles and there are others like it, but yeah, pretty much. It was not an easy or quick process to get down, but when I did, it felt like a dream come true. I, along with our other classmates, had to work to the bone to get in here and I'm sure everyone would agree with me on that."_

 _The pink eyed teen had received several contemplating looks and later agreement after some time. It was then time to get back to the topic at hand, as Hajikeru looked directly at the region above Tooru's neckline._

 _"With that being said, I have to ask you, Hagakure," he said with a serious expression. "Do you believe you've worked hard enough to show everyone here what you can do?"_

 _The quartet was overcome with silence as the question was being contemplated by Tooru. It was a question directed towards the invisible girl, but it really made the other two of the group ask themselves that question too. Have they really worked hard enough to be where they are now? The answer wasn't as simple as yes or no. It needed more thought and contemplation than they were able to comprehend in a single day. But after a prolonged silence, the invisible girl spoke._

 _"Do you think I'm ready, Utakata?"_

 _The bubble teen gave Tooru a sharp look before answering. "I can't answer that question for you, Hagakure. I may be your friend, but I can't make decisions this big for you. Remember, this is about how ready_ you _think you are."_

 _Both Mezo and Mina simply kept quiet as their two friends conversed. They were confident that Hajikeru knew what he was talking about and that it was Tooru's decision to make. She didn't need outside voices to interfere with her choice._

 _"I think…" mumbled out the invisible girl. Her next statement came out louder than the first as she announced her decision. "I think… I'm not ready to be in the tournament. I still have a lot of work to do before I am." She received a sad look from her pink-skinned friend, a look of understanding from Mezo, and a melancholy grin from Hajikeru as a response to her decision._

 _Except she wasn't finished speaking._

 _"But next time, I'm going to show the world how hard I worked to get there! Mark my words, everyone! I'll make everyone's jaw drop from how super cool I've become!"_

 _"You tell it, Tooru!" cheered Mina with both arms up. "I'm going to work hard too so that I can be right beside you up there!"_

 _"So will I," the multi-armed teen spoke as he brought three of his fists up in a determined pose._

 _"Heh, you'll hafta catch up to me first!" good-heartedly taunted Hajikeru._

 _"Oh yeah?" replied Tooru. "Just you wait, Utakata! You're the first to go down, and then its gonna be Bakugo and Todoroki next!"_

 _"Hey, I'm about as tough as those guys."_

 _"Yeah, sure, okay," simultaneously replied Mina and Tooru, to the bubble teen's heartbreak._

 _"Bakugo has Explosions, Todoroki has Fire and Ice, and you have bubbles," stated Mezo in a somewhat humorous tone. "I see several things wrong there."_

 _"When did you get so cheeky with the jokes?!" shouted the bubble teen, much to the trio's amusement._

 _Now_

The quartet of friends managed to enjoy themselves after the tense meeting they had to alleviate Tooru's doubts about being there. She returned to her cheerful self and enjoyed the festivities provided by the school, going by the fact that she, Ochako, and Mina ran off by themselves. This left Tenya, Mezo, Hajikeru, and Izuku by themselves, though it didn't leave them without anything to do.

Which brings us to Tooru's withdrawal from the tournament.

 **"Are you absolutely sure you want to drop out, Ms. Hagakure,"** questioned Midnight. **"You must know this is a big decision."**

"I know," replied the invisible girl. "But I'm not ready to show everyone what I can do just yet! Next time I will be, though!"

 **"Alright. I'll approve of your withdrawal from the tournament, on one condition."** An uncomfortable silence permeated the air as the stadium waited in anticipation of the R-Rated Hero's condition. A wide smile and excited eyes were made prominent on Midnight's face. **"YOU COME HOME WITH ME!"**

"Can I think about it?"

 **"I'll give you a week, then I want an answer, my adorable bundle of sunshine!"**

Never in these people's lives have they been floored by rapid replies so quickly, especially in the middle of a very large crowd. Though some were concerned about how willing Midnight was to take Tooru home with her.

"She can't be serious, right?" asked a concerned Mina. She received several shrugs as responses from her classmates.

 **"Tooru Hagakure has officially dropped out of the tournament! Normally we would have one of the members of the runner team to replace a contestant, should they withdraw for whatever reason, but we don't have a runner up team this time. So instead, the team that held on to their points the longest will have to be the runner up! The team that qualifies for the Tournament is Team Monoma. Which one of you will participate?"**

There was hardly any discussion between the team before the copy teen stepped forward. "I'll be representing Team Monoma, esteemed teacher of U.A."

 **"Alright! Monoma's inclusion brings us back up to 16 contestants! Shuffle the participants!"**

A large tournament grid appeared on the large television screen behind the R-Rated Hero, with the 16 contestant slots quickly going through all the names of the qualifying students. With a loud ring, the matches were decided.

 **Round 1**

 **Match 1: Eijiro Kirishima vs. Izuku Midoriya**

 **Match 2: Juzo Honenuki vs. Shoto Todoroki**

 **Match 3: Tenya Iida vs. Sherry Teikiatsu**

 **Match 4: Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Hanta Sero**

 **Match 5: Neito Monoma vs. Hajikeru Utakata**

 **Match 6: Katsuki Bakugo vs. Ochako Uraraka**

 **Match 7: Tsuyu Asui vs. Momo Yaoyorozu**

 **Match 8: Denryoku Emera vs. Denki Kaminari**

 **"These will be your matches for the tournament. As I've said before, you have the choice to participate in the fun activities or sit them out. You have five minutes to decide before we begin the fun times!"**

Many of the students looked at the bracket with intent, seeing as some are not exactly psyched about facing their opponents.

"Hey, Midoriya!" the spiky redhead called out to the freckled teen, who of which was startled out of observing his potential match ups. "Hope you're ready for a fistfight! I'm not gonna be holding back, so bring me everything you got!"

"Uh… sure, Kirishima," stuttered Izuku. "I'll do my best!"

"That's all I ask, man," Eijiro replied with a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

"Looks like I got Iida in the first match," half smiled the sandy blonde as she crossed her arms in amusement. "This oughta be good."

'So I got some guy called Neito Monoma in the first round,' thought the bubble teen. 'And if I move on, I'll need to face either Bakugo or Uraraka in the second round. This is going to be fun.' His words didn't match the lack enthusiasm as Hajikeru thought about his potential matches.

"You must be Hajikeru Utakata," spoke a sardonic voice from behind the bubble teen, causing him to turn around. "You've shown to have a powerful Quirk. I'll be sure to show you how it's used properly. You'll be the first of 1-A to fall to me. I'd wish you good luck, but I don't want to get your hopes up." And like that, the copy teen walks away to his little group of supporters.

"Cocky prick," muttered Hajikeru with furrowed brows.

"Uraraka?" the explosive teen questioned, completely oblivious to Ochako's presence behind him. "Who the hell is that?"

Ochako, meanwhile, was completely mortified by who her first opponent is.

'Craaaaaaaap!' she hissed out in her head.

 **"Now let's leave the tournament to the side in the meanwhile and get on with the fun activities!"** exclaimed Mdinight.

For the next 45 minutes, the first year students, save for a few students that decided to use their time to prepare for the tournament, participated in a series of recreational activities consisting of a ball rolling competition, a scavenger hunt where they were allowed to ask the audience for the items if needed, and even a short cheer lesson from the two cheer teams. Even the Class 1-A girls were asked to participate during the lesson, though it was only because the other team thought they were legitimate cheerleaders. They mainly just stood there and did some poses that looked 'cheerleader-y', much to their embarrassment, but those that weren't enjoying being in front of so many people at first began to mellow out as the other squad gave them some pointers. Overall, it was a fun experience.

But the time for pleasantries ended when Cementoss came on to the field after everyone was dismissed and made up the stage for the tournament with his Quirk.

 _Match 1: Eijiro Kirishima vs. Izuku Midoriya_

 **"IIIIIT'S TIIIIIME FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL WAITED FOR! IT'S U.A.'S TOURNAMENT OF POWER!"** shouted Present Mic.

 **"It's just called the Tournament, Mic,"** grumbled out Shota as he crawled out of his sleeping bag with a bag of lightly salted fruit. **"Stop trying to change the name of the event."**

 **"Not gonna stop me from trying, Eraserhead! Now let's get underway with the first match! Making a notable name for himself in every event we threw at him, it's Izuku Midoriya from the Hero Course!"** Izuku made his way onto the concrete stage with an Izuku-like look of determination. **"Facing him is his fellow classmate from 1-A, the armored, redhead of manliness, Eijiro Kirishima!"** Said spiky redhead in question made his way onto the field, cracking his knuckles as he sized up his classmate with a toothy grin.

 **"Now the rules are simple: Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to say "I give up", cry "Uncle", forcing them to tap out, or KO-ing them! Don't think you need to pull punches in this tournament! We have our youthful school nurse, Recovery Girl, on standby in case any of you get injured! Anything goes, but we have a strict 'No Killing' rule. Otherwise you will be disqualified and promptly kicked out of U.A. by yours truly. But that won't happen so long as our school faculty is able to stop such things before it gets too dangerous. Now enough of my babbling! LET'S GET THE FIRST MATCH STARTED!"**

"Hey, Midoriya!" called out Eijiro to his opponent. "Good luck, again, man!"

Slightly caught off guard by his opponent's act of sportsmanship, Izuku replied with vigor in his voice. "Yeah! You too Kirishima!"

 **"LET THE FIRST MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND… BEGIN!"**

Eijiro was the one to make the first move. He quickly dashed towards Izuku with both arms hardened by his Quirk.

The meek teen quickly dodged to the side as the spiky redhead threw a hardened punch towards his face. Having studied his classmates over the course of three weeks, from Hero Training to the offhanded comments made during casual conversations, he had a working idea as to how his classmate's Quirks and fighting styles worked. Eijiro's fighting style is mostly akin to a street brawler, with his Quirk acting as defense and offense. He isn't able to fully harden every part of his body at once for full protection, but he is able to harden four parts of his body in an instant. He also knows he can't keep up his Quirk for extended periods of time.

So Izuku is left with several options: draw out the fight with Eijiro while using a safe amount of One-for-All to wear him down (safest option overall), get some distance from him and use a 100% Smash on him to knock him out of the ring (dubbed too dangerous to risk), or wear him down by attacking the unarmored parts of his body (dubbed doable, but has a high chance of prolonging the fight).

Izuku charged up his Quirk with the same power output as he did with Shoto during the Cavalry Battle and threw a left cross at Eijiro's face, which the spiky redhead tanked with a wince. His left arm hurt from the punch he threw, but thankfully it didn't render it useless. Eijiro reciprocated that punch with a wild, left haymaker, impacting the right side of his face with a thud. He was sent staggering back from the impact, feeling his cheek throb in pain. He wiped his face where the spiky redhead hit to find some smudged blood on backside of his hand.

"That was a good hit, Midoriya!" called out Eijiro as he felt a bruise forming on his cheek. "Won't be enough to put me down, though!"

'So he takes a safe amount of One-for-All to the face and all it leaves a bruise?' thought Izuku as he contemplated his choices through a light haze in his vision. The punch he received to his cheek was hard, enough to wonder if he had a slight concussion from how much his head hurt. 'My arm hurts from just using the safe amount once. It's not broken, but it does feel strained. I should be able to use it a few more times, but as soon as it's broken, I'll be completely helpless against him. On top of that, I can't afford to take another hit like that. I'll have to play this smart. Use his wild style of fighting against him.'

The spiky redhead was on the attack again with a yell and a hardened face and arm, cocked back for a straight punch. Izuku charged at him with his right hand glowing with One-for-All's power, giving Eijiro the idea that he was going to go for another punch to the face. In a similar move to what he pulled in the Cavalry Battle, the meek teen threw his arm to the side, causing a wind pressure that moved the redhead's attack to the side. In a move that even he didn't think would work, Izuku immediately charged up his left arm with his Quirk after removing the charge from his right and promptly slammed it into Eijiro's gut. It sent the spiky redhead skidding back a couple of meters.

Not particularly concerned about his insignificant injuries, Eijiro saw his opponent approaching with his right arm cocked back and glowing with his Quirk again. He quickly hardened both arms, along with his torso and face as he charged as well. As they closed the distance between them, Eijiro cocked back his left arm for a punch, with his right arm in front of his body. He was ready for whatever attack his opponent had planned.

Except Izuku wasn't going for an attack.

With precise timing, Izuku quickly dodged around the redhead's left punch and grabbed him by the front of his PE shirt. With a shout, he threw Eijiro out of the ring with his power-enhanced right arm, much to the audience's astonishment.

 **"Kirishima is out of bounds!"** announced Midnight. **"Midoriya moves on to the second round!"**

 **"WHAT A WILD START TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT!"** yelled out Present Mic as the audience cheered. **"It may have lacked the flashiness to put it in my list of favorite fights, but it had plenty of the tactical thinking that makes many of these fights so darn nail biting! Let's give them a hand for an awesome fight!"**

As the audience cheered, Izuku rubbed his forearms as he felt the muscles in his arms throb in pain. He never tried to use the safe amount of One-for-All repeatedly on a person and he was glad his concentration didn't slip during those attacks. He could only imagine what would have happened if he did.

"Nice job out there, Midoriya!" Eijiro called out as he made his way back onto the stage for the ending pleasantries. "I didn't think you would throw me out of the ring with that fake. I guess I still need to work on my strategizing. Thanks for that."

"Wait, why are you thanking me?" asked a confused Izuku.

"We learn best from failures, right?"

 _Later_

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Nice job out there, guys!" called out Hajikeru as Izuku and Eijiro arrived to the class designated seats.

"Thanks, Utakata," replied the two teens simultaneously.

"We have saved you a seat, Midoriya!" Tenya announced, the meek teen accepting the seat next to him and Ochako, who was oddly more reserved than normal.

"That was a good fight, huh Mr. Explody Pants?" Sherry cheerily asked the explosive teen as Eijiro took a seat next to her.

"It sucked," bluntly said Katsuki, not particularly caring about the whole match. "You lost to Deku, you dumbass."

"Well, he definitely outsmarted me, that's for sure," embarrassingly admitted the spiky redhead.

 _Match 2: Juzo Honenuki vs. Shoto Todoroki_

 **"Iiiiit's time for the second match to start rolling out!"** yelled out Present Mic. **"On one side, we have one of the only students from Class 1-B participating in the tournament, but by no means is he a pushover, Juzo Honekuki!** Said lipless teen was staring down his opponent, most traces of his humorous personality absent. **And up against him is the crowd favorite from Class 1-A, bringing in a cold front from downtown, it's Shoto Todoroki!"** Shoto glared back at his opponent in disdain from the earlier encounter with his father, Endeavour. **"Let the second match of the Tournament… BEGIN!"**

"Apologies," muttered out a livid Shoto. He sent a massive amount of ice towards Juzo with the intention of finishing the match quick.

Everything shook as an iceberg twice the height of the stadium violently emerged from the half-white, half redhead. The audience, commentators, and students were all completely shocked over the sudden appearance of the frozen behemoth. A heavy silence permeated the stadium as the shock of the massive attack began to wear off.

However, there was a distinct lack of an opponent across from Shoto's ice covered form.

"That's a good attempt," Juzo said some distance behind Shoto as he emerged from the ground, to the heterochromic teen's surprise. At the same time, Shoto began to quickly sink into the softened ground. "But it was much too reckless."

Shoto, however, immediately turned around as best he could and place his right hand on the ground and sent out another iceberg's worth of ice towards Juzo. It came as a surprise to the lipless teen, as he didn't have enough time to sink into the softened cement. He could have softened the cement, but it would have done nothing to stop the iceberg from steamrolling over him. To his chagrin, he was immobilized and he couldn't get out of it.

 **"Are… you able to move, Honenuki?"** chattered out Midnight.

"N… nah…" Juzo stuttered out. "C… can't use my… Q-Quirk either…"

 **"Alright… Honenuki is immobilized! Todoroki advances!"**

 **"Jeez,"** commented Present Mic. **"That was kinda overkill, don't you think?"** His commentating partner simply stayed quiet as he observed his student.

"I'm sorry," Shoto said as he went to defrost Juzo with his steaming left hand. "I lost my head there."

"Y-yeah," Juzo chattered out. "I n-noticed…"

 _Class 1-B Seating Area_

"Aw c'mon!" Setsuna groaned out. "That fight was totally unfair! That stupid jerk with the stupid iceberg in his butt! Didn't even give Honenuki a chance!"

"That guy is completely unhinged to do something as overwhelming as that," spoke up Sen as he frowned at the end result.

"And his class full of pretentious idiots that feel like it's necessary to put us all down," Neito spoke with a smile, still condescending as ever.

"That's your observation, Monoma," Denryoku spoke with his arms crossed, deadpanned expression prominent. "If you stopped going at their throats, you would see they're no different than us."

"Of course you would say that, Mr. Vice President. You have a biased. You've been chummy with the Class 1-A clowns these past few weeks. You didn't even try to hide it when I asked."

"That's because I have nothing to hide. And I don't have a problem with forming bonds with Class 1-A."

Many of the students have considered interacting with Class 1-A the past few weeks before the Sports Festival, but the hostility given off by Tetsutetsu and Neito greatly discouraged them from doing so. The only ones that successfully interacted with some of them were Juzo, Setsuna, and Itsuka, and that was only because of Denryoku since he was the only bridge between the two classes.

"Whatever. Mingle with the clowns for all I care. It will prove your downfall eventually."

"I seriously doubt that."

 _Match 3: Tenya Iida vs. Sherry Teikiatsu_

 **"NOW THAT THE FIELD IS NO LONGER THE TITANIC'S RESTING PLACE, LET'S GET ON WITH THE NEXT MATCH!"** announced Present Mic. **"This time, we have one of the fastest students in Class 1-A and the most robotic looking human I've ever seen in my life, Tenya Iida!"** The speedy teen could be seen stretching out his limbs in preparation of his fight with the sandy blonde. **"Facing him is the Whirlwind Mistress and a likely candidate for the top four, it's Sherry Teikiatsu!"** The buxom teen was doing the same thing as her opponent, though to a more extreme degree as she was doing perfect splits whilst stretching her arms out.

'Teikiatsu is going to be a difficult opponent to take down,' contemplated Tenya as he eyed his opponent while she finished up her stretches. 'My time limit with Recipro-Burst right now is 10 seconds, so that is the time I need to finish the fight. She may be one of my classmates, but I can't hold back against her. She's more than capable of putting up a fight, so I must be prepared to hurt her.'

'Iida's going to be toughy to take down,' thought Sherry as she stood up from her stretches. 'His speed Quirk is going to make his legs the main attraction when he attacks. As long as I could avoid them and kick his buns in the process, I should be goochy.' ( **Underlined text is English, not Japanese.** )

 **"LET THE THIRD MATCH… BEGIN!"**

"Recipro-BURST!"

"Reci-wha- GAAH!"

In less than a second, Tenya shot off from across the field and landed a clean, full-powered kick to Sherry's stomach, sending her tumbling to the side of the field. Not wanting to give his opponent any chance to counterattack, he quickly dashed over to her downed body with the intention of throwing her out of the ring. He didn't expect his opponent to move so easily after a kick like that, but he couldn't be farther from the truth.

The sandy blonde twisted herself onto her back, ignoring the excruciating pain in her stomach as best she could, and shot off from the ground using a strong, concentrated gust of wind from her limbs, just barely avoiding the speedy teen.

'She's still able to move after that?' thought Tenya through grit teeth as he quickly turned around. 'Seven seconds left before my engines stall.'

"Gale Storm," shouted Sherry as her legs were quickly covered with violent swirling winds. "Category 4!"

With a shout, the sandy blonde quickly launched herself from the air with her left leg and launched a Quirk-enhanced spin kick towards her opponent with her right. Tenya was able to move out of the way in time and attempted to deliver the same kick he dealt at the beginning of the match, but instead took a Gust Shot to his face, causing him to miss her by a hair. Sherry quickly dashed away from the speedy teen in attempt to get some distance from him, but Tenya immediately caught up to her and launched a kick to knock her out of the ring.

He noticed the manic smirk on her face one second too late.

"Typhoon Cannon… Category 4!"

Before the kick could make contact, with a roar that resembled the sound of hurricane force winds, Sherry unleashed a powerful torrent of wind from her joined, outstretched arms. Tenya felt himself get launched away from his opponent and towards the boundaries of the ring. He shakily recovered from the launch with a quick burst of his Quirk and went for another dash at Sherry.

'3 seconds left. I need to make this count.' Tenya knew this last attack would be his last before his engines stalled. He launched from his spot in the ring with a standing long jump and wound up his leg for one last kick.

From the opposite end of the field, Sherry knew she wasn't going to last long with how much her body hurt. Her stomach was beginning to ache and she could feel a painful bruise begin to form, but she couldn't stop and groan about it right now. She needed to finish the fight first before complaining. She launched from her spot on the field with a wind enhanced burst from her leg and wound up her opposite leg for another 'Category 4' spin kick.

The two opponents met at the very center of the ring and launched their respective kicks. Tenya managed to land his kick onto Sherry's head, but he also took a wind-enhanced kick to his jaw. The sandy blonde was sent to the ground and briefly blacked out from the roundhouse kick, as similar result shared by her opponent from the spin kick to the jaw.

After shaking off the small concussion, Tenya shakily stood up and checked the condition of his legs. To his expectations and disappointment, his legs' exhaust pipes were billowing out black smoke, indicating his engines have stalled and the Recipro-Burst's time limit was reached.

"Does that smoke mean you're finished?" called out his opponent. He went to respond, but caught an unnerving sight as he looked at the sandy blonde. She was slightly hunched over and holding her stomach area, no doubt from the kick he delivered at the beginning of the match. Her PE uniform was shredded from the deltoid down and from mid-thigh down, and she had many cuts on her arms and legs. The worst of the cuts were on her legs as many of them had blood dripping from where her Quirk was surrounding her legs.

"Are you alright, Teikiatsu?" asked Iida, concerned about his classmate's injuries.

"Answer my question first, Iida. I'll enlighten you when you give me the verdict."

Tenya sighed heavily as he admitted defeat. "Procter, I forfeit! I can no longer go on with my condition as is!"

 **"Iida has conceited defeat!"** announce the R-Rated Hero. **"Teikiatsu moves on to the next round!"**

 **"THAT WAS EASILY THE FASTEST AND MOST INTENSE MATCH I HAVE EVER WITNESSED IN MY LIFE!"** praised the Voice Hero. **"What was the time, Eraserhead?!"**

 **"I was watching the fight, not taking the time, Mic,"** spoke an irritated Shota. **"You want to know how fast the fight took, invest in a stopwatch."**

 **"THAT'S SO NOT COOL, MAN!"**

Sherry walked over to Tenya and grabbed his arm to drape over her shoulder to help the incapacitated Tenya off the stadium and back to their class's seating area. She began to enlighten her classmate on her condition as they walked.

"To answer your question, Iida," started Sherry. "My head feels like it's spinning in a whirlpool, my arms are a bit tingly, my legs feel a little numb from the cuts, and my stomach has a bruise the size of Husky's Stadium, but other than that I'm fine."

"You seem too lively despite what you just told me, Teikiatsu," Tenya replied, not buying into his classmate's indication that she was fine.

"What can I say? I'm a tough cookie to break."

Tenya stayed quiet after that statement, getting a feeling that he wasn't going to get her to admit that she wasn't fine. He could tell his classmate wasn't in the best shape from how much her legs were trembling and how much she was swaying during the walk through the tunnel. At the top of the stairs that lead to the upper floors, Tenya could feel his legs regain some movement back and he was capable of full movement again. He recommended to Sherry that she pay a visit to Recovery Girl to treat her injuries, to which the buxom blonde agreed to without resisting.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

Nearly all of the Class 1-A students were completely floored by the short, yet intense display that their classmates put on. They knew having some of the best students face off against each other was going to be an intense experience, but they didn't know to what degree until now.

"Holy shit…" muttered out Eijiro. "Did any of you guys fully catch that?"

"I kinda did," replied Hajikeru. "But their movements were so fast, I didn't catch all if it."

"Did you see Teikiatsu's condition after the fight?" Kyoka said with concern clear in her voice.

"Yeah…" whispered out Minoru as he drooled thinking about the image. "Did you see how much leg she showed?" He was immediately struck by an earphone jack by an angry Kyoka, causing him to shriek in pain.

"She was bleeding, you asshole!"

"She was able to get off the stage without much issue, so I don't think those injuries were that bad," Denryoku said from behind the Class 1-A students, causing some of them to jump at his sudden appearance.

"Oh, hey Denryo. What's up?" asked Hajikeru.

"Who's this guy?" asked a confused Denki.

"My name's Denryoku Emera," answered the electro-teen. "I'm from Class 1-B."

This got many of the students on edge from hearing he was from their rival class.

"Wait. You're the guy I'm fighting at the end of the first round! Why are you here? To scout out the competition?"

"Haji, walk with me," Denryoku stated, ignoring the electric teen entirely.

"Alright," responded the bubble teen as he sidled through the aisle to get to the end. "My match is after Sero's and Tokoyami's anyway, so I may as well warm up as much as I can. See ya, guys!"

"See ya after your match, Utakata!" called out Tooru.

"Kick some butt, Utakata!" added Mina.

Mezo simply nodded in his direction.

"Wait, you're not honestly going with that 1-B jerk, are you Utakata?" questioned Denki to the bubble teen.

"Uh… Yeah," replied Hajikeru in a matter-of-fact tone. "Why wouldn't I want to walk and talk with my best friend?"

Many eyebrows were raised in surprise at that question, but the few that did know didn't pay any mind to it.

"What? Why is everyone so quiet?"

"You're friends with that guy?" questioned Eijiro in surprise.

"BEST friends, Kirishima. It's a bit insulting if that title isn't there."

"It's… what?"

"Today, Haji," droned Denryoku to his closest friend.

"Oh right. Seeya, guys."

A brief silence surrounded the duo as they walked away from the class seating area. Hajikeru decided to break the silence as they heard the next match about to start.

"So, what made you want to pull me away from the action?" the bubble teen asked.

"I got tired of Monoma's hate banter, so I made an excuse to leave," the electro-teen answered. "I'm glad he's facing you in the first round, Haji."

"And why is that?" Hajikeru asked while he raised one of his eyebrows in interest.

"The nature of your Quirk is a natural deterrent for someone like him. Let's leave it at that."

"Eh, alright. It wouldn't be fair if I knew what his Quirk does, anyway."

Denryoku simply grunted at that statement.

"Hey you guys!" called out a voice from behind them. When they turned around, the two roommates saw a frazzled Izuku jogging towards them.

"Midoriya?" Hajikeru questioned at the sight of his meek friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if you knew where Uraraka went."

"Dude, she's been gone since Todoroki's match finished. I'm kinda surprised you didn't notice that until now."

The bushy haired teen looked down with a guilty expression on his face, indicating he felt bad about not noticing his brunette friend's absence.

"She's probably in the waiting room preparing for her match," suggested Denryoku. "She's facing Bakugo for her first match, so of course she would be preparing herself for it. You may want to check there."

"Thanks, Emera," thanked the meek teen

"I was actually thinking of going there to mentally prepare myself," the bubble teen said as he shrugged.

 **"Sero is out of bounds!"** Midnight announced. **"Tokoyami advances to the next round!"**

…

"Or I could just go out there right now because Tokoyami's Quirk is OP."

"Good luck, Utakata," wished Izuku.

"See you after your win," Denryoku said.

"If you're so sure about it, okay."

 _Match 5: Neito Monoma vs. Hajikeru Utakata_

 **"LET'S ROLL ON TO THE NEXT MATCH!"** Present Mic announced. **"This time, we have the second of Class 1-B to technically qualify for the tournament: Neito Monoma!"**

"Please," Neito muttered through his half lidded eyes and cocky smile. "Don't try to downplay my qualification, Present Mic."

 **"Versus the largest, walking bubble dispenser to ever live: Hajikeru Utakata!"**

'Well, he's not wrong,' thought Hajikeru. 'I haven't met anyone else with a bubble based Quirk.'

 **"Let the Fifth Match of the First Round… BEGIN!"**

For the first time since the Tournament began, neither one of the contestants moved from their spots on the field.

'Let's see…' contemplated the bubble teen as he sized up his opponent. 'Unlike my classmates, I don't know anything about this guy or his Quirk, besides being a pretentious prick. But he said something about showing me how my Quirk is properly used. What did he mean by that?'

"Are you waiting for me to move?" Neito asked mockingly. "I'm sorry to say, but I'm won't be moving first. Otherwise we'll both be here all day."

'No doubt he's got something planned. I could try to knock him down with a Pumpkin Type Pressure Bubble from here, but then there's the unknown factor about his Quirk. And I don't want to dry out my throat so early in the match. If it fails, I'll be a sitting duck.' The bubble teen lightly scowled at the situation he's in. 'I'll have to play this safe if I want to win this.'

The bubble teen turned around and fired off an Orange Type Pressure Bubble to propel himself toward the cocky blond. Once he was within striking distance, he threw a wild right cross at the blonde. Neito simply stepped back from the punch and immediately went for an open palm drop on the bubble teen. Said bubble teen quickly made and detonated a Grapefruit Type Pressure Bubble to put some distance between them.

"You have good reflexes," called out the sardonic blond. "But I recommend you get serious before I do!"

'He's got to be baiting me,' observed Hajikeru. 'He was going to make contact with his palm, but other than that he still hasn't shown what his Quirk does. He has to be waiting until the right time to use it like Midoriya did during his fight with Kirishima. I'll have to finish him quickly before he does use it.'

Like before, Hajikeru fired off a small Pressure Bubble to propel himself forward into a run. Once he got close to the blond, he fired off a much smaller pressure bubble that simply served as a distraction with its brief gust of wind and loud pop. When Neito went to back step the feint, the bubble teen reached out, grabbed his forearm, and went to prepare a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble. Halfway through his preparations, however, the sardonic blond landed a hard slap onto the bubble teen's face, causing him to prematurely detonate his Pressure Bubble. As a result, it sent him and Neito away from each other, though the blond landed on his feet while Hajikeru landed on his back.

"And now that your Quirk is mine," called out Neito to the surprised Hajikeru. "…It's my win, Class 1-A."

'He has my Quirk now!?' internally yelled the bubble teen. 'Does he steal other people's Quirks and uses them against them?! Wait a minute…' He quickly blew a simple bubble to discover he still has his Quirk, to his relief. 'So he didn't steal my Quirk, but copied it instead? But then that means…' At the realization that his opponent has copied his Quirk, Hajikeru visibly relaxed and a wide smirk quickly overtook his face.

"What's with the smile, Class 1-A? I have your powerful Quirk now. I would suggest you lay down and admit defeat before I humiliate you in front of everyone!" To the blond's surprise, Hajikeru began running towards him without using his Quirk to propel him forward. "Fine, have it your way." Neito began to use his copied Quirk, quickly blowing a bubble that outsized anything Hajikeru has ever made throughout the Sports Festival. "You're much too *cough* too reckless for charging *cough* *cough* in without a plan, and now you're *cough* finished here." The copy teen got low to the ground and went to flick the monster sized bubble, fully prepared for the blowback from the wind pressure about to come. With a quick flick, he ducked his head and readied himself for his wind encompassing victory.

Except when it happened, there was nothing more than a louder than average pop from the bulbous bubble. No deafening burst, no hurricane force winds, nothing like the bubbles Hajikeru created.

"I thought so," Hajikeru spoke as he went to pick up the curled up Neito. "You copied my Quirk, but you didn't copy any of my techniques!" He continued to talk to the copy teen as he picked him up by his PE shirt. "You wouldn't know how to make my Pressure Bubbles and you don't nearly have the capacity to make them! What I've done with my Quirk is a result of many years of toil and sweat! And now…" Hajikeru prepared his finishing move with a turn of his body as an upstart to his throw.

"I can finally call my party trick of a Quirk one worthy of a Hero!"

With a shout, the bubble teen threw the copy teen towards the ring's boundaries, while simultaneously blowing and detonating a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble with a flick to ensure his opponent was successfully out of the ring.

 **"Monoma is out of bounds!"** announced the R-Rated Hero. **"Utakata is the winner!"**

 **"Incredible!"** shouted Present Mic. **"I thought we were gonna replace the stadium from the size of that bubble! Good thing it was just a simple bubble, huh sports fans!"**

'If there's anything to take away from this fight,' thought Shota as he observed his student. 'It's that Utakata's techniques are more complex than a simple utilization of his Quirk. They're more technique based than initially thought.'

 **"Impressive,"** muttered out the Erasure Hero.

 **(And cut! Not gonna lie, this was kinda difficult to write, especially with Matches 1, 3, and 5. I wanted to convey a form of authenticity into the fights to where they would be believable if they were part of the cannon material. We know that Izuku has a slight grasp on the 'safe amount' of One-for-All, but it was only during the Cavalry Battle where we see him use it in a tense situation. So why not use it during an equally tense, combat situation?**

 **For Sherry and Tenya's fight, I found a bit trouble trying to make this fight appear equal. While I had always planned on having Sherry win the match, I wanted it to be from a believable scenario. So I thought, why not have the match end because of the Recipro-Bursts time limit? I know, I know, it seemed obvious that the time limit would be the deciding factor, but I didn't think of that until a few days ago [going from the time this chapter is published (7/3)]. I'm also aware that Sherry is a bit OP with how she held back Tenya, but she got the brunt of the damage, so... yeah.**

 **And finally, the poster boy of this fanfic himself vs. the most pretentious of pricks. This was probably the easiest fight to write compared to the other ones. Simple defensive tactics, playing it close to the chest at first but getting reckless in the middle, only to find out there was nothing to worry about. Then he was reminded of the time he had honing his Quirk into to what it is now. It's very humbling towards the end, really. Also, Monoma totally had it coming. Though, it's an interesting story about the whole 'baseline only' Copy Quirk.**

 ***SPOILER WARNING IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH M.H.A. SEASON 3 ANIME!***

 **I actually got the idea from what All-for-One said to Best Jeanist during the raid on the Nomu Factory, something like how his Quirk was more technique based as opposed to the more simple to use Quirks. And I thought back to the Cavalry Battle and the two Quirks Neito copied during that time: Katsuki's Explosion and Eijiro's Hardening. They both seem like simple Quirks to use, so that was probably why Neito was able to use them with ease. And this is where the 'baseline only' aspect of the Copy Quirk was born for this FanFic.**

 **Man did I type a lot for this AN. If you're wondering where the Hanta Sero vs. Fumikage Tokoyami fight is... There is none... I think we can all imagine how that fight went.**

"Nice try!"

"You did your best!"

 **"Don't worry Sero. I would have had a difficult time with that bird too."**

 **So there. Anyway, no other news on the other project I have planned for later in the year, but I'll keep you updated if anything of note comes up. Okay, now I'm done. Peace and Love!)**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 5/29/19**

 **Okay, I was bored one night and I had a case of writer's block, so I decided to continue with my editing spree. This time, I changed a bit of the flashback portion to make it a bit more relatable and relevant to the story. And I made it a bit more personal to Hajikeru. It's not the best, but it's a hell of a lot less confusing to follow compared to the first one. And some minor details here and there. That's about it. PEACES!)**

 **(Edit: 6/14/19**

 **I forgot this was in my computer... Woops.)**


	10. The UA SF: The Tournament Round 1 Part 2

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _5 Years Ago_

 _"Denryo! Come outside! I'm having a breakthrough!"_

 _"Haji, we have homework to do. Show me later."_

 _"Don't worry! It will only take a minute!"_

 _"It better. Remember when Auntie caught us out here when she came home? I'd rather avoid getting an unnecessary lecture because of you again."_

 _"Okay watch!"_

 _"I'm watching…"_

 _"Exploding Bubble, go!"_

 _..._

 _…_

 _*POP*_

 _"Wow, I'm impressed. You managed to make a loud pop. Good job."_

 _"Cut the sarcasm, Denryo. I think I can really make my Quirk super awesome with this Exploding Bubble! Didn't you feel a bit if wind when it exploded?"_

 _"I felt something, but that hardly even qualifies as wind. It was more like someone was breathing on my face."_

 _"But I wasn't breathing on your face. That was my bubble."_

 _"I mean, if someone asked me if that was either from a Quirk or a natural occurrence, I will say natural occurrence 10 out of 10 times."_

 _"And if I can make this Exploding Bubble super strong? What then?"_

 _"Then I'll say 9 out of 10 times."_

 _"I'll make you say -1 out of 10 times when I make this super powerful!"_

 _"I somehow doubt that."_

 _"Just you watch! I can make it happen!"_

 _Present Day_

'It feels like so long ago since he came up with that nearly useless move,' thought Denryoku as he heard Midnight announced his best friend's victory. He was thinking back to when he and Hajikeru were in grade school, a time when his best friend had yet to perfect the new move to what was shown throughout the entire Sports Festival. He had doubted his friend could make the little 'Explosion Bubble' into something viable back then, but he was proven wrong several years later when he was blown back by the same move, now dubbed the 'Pressure Bubble'. And from there, it all just fell together for his bubble blowing friend. He may have ran into several bumps in the road in the form of bullies and people telling him his Quirk wasn't useful for a Hero, but he never stopped pursuing his dream despite the harsh words and the putdowns by other students.

'Now he's being cheered on for his win by the entire world.' A subtle grin made his way onto his normally stoic face. 'I may have doubted your tenacity and dedication to your dream in the beginning, Haji. But now I know you'll reach it as long as you keep doing what you're doing. And I'll be right by your side every step of the way there… I have to.' An old thought of losing his best friend intruded his mind before he shook it off in frustration. 'It won't be like before. I already promised that.' Feeling his frustration beginning to manifest as his Quirk's electrical abilities in the studs on his fingertips, he quickly calmed himself down with a few deep breaths.

 _Later_

"Hey, Denryo!" called out Hajikeru as he approached his best friend. He was leaning at the entrance way to the Class 1-A and 1-B seating area, out of sight of the Class 1-A students.

"I told you it was your win," simply replied Denryoku as he nodded to the bubble teen in acknowledgement. They both made their way to the Class 1-A seating area.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would be right. And can I tell you how good it felt to threw that jerk out of the stage?!"

"Have you tried paralyzed on the ground?"

The pink eyed teen briefly paused in surprise at the question before he spoke again. "Did you…?"

"No, but I was tempted several times."

"Hey! Nice win down there, Utakata!" Eijiro called out to the duo from his seat as they arrived at the seating area.

"We knew you would win!" Mina yelled from her seat, Tooru and Mezo nodding in agreement to their pink friend's statement.

"Yeah, you showed that Class 1-B jerk who's boss!" yelled out Denki before noticing the electro-teen beside his classmate. "Hey, what's he still doing here!?"

"Take it easy, Kaminari," mediated the bubble teen. "He's just here to watch the other matches."

"How do you know he's not in cahoots with that Monoma guy? What if he's trying to figure out how our Quirks work to use our weaknesses against us?"

"As if I would work with someone as unstable as him," Denryoku replied, drawing Class 1-A's attention. "Besides, even if I did want to know what your Quirks did, I'd rather figure it out myself." Some students were still suspicious of him, but the more trusting of the bunch simply nodded.

The duo made their way down the steps and sat at the bottom section of the Class 1-A seating area. When they got there, the bubble teen was given words of accomplishment by his closer friends, to which he embarrassingly accepted. Not long before the next match, Tenya and Izuku came back with matching expressions of anxiousness, not that the duo could blame them. They and Tsuyu were closer to Ochako than anyone else, so it makes sense they would be nervous for her, especially since she's facing one of the strongest students in their first year class.

 **"IIIIIT'S TIIIIIME, FOR THE NEXT MATCH TO BE UNDERWAY!"** Present Mic announced. **"In this corner, we have another favorite from Class 1-A, with an explosive attitude to match his Quirk: Katsuki Bakugo!"** The explosive teen was met with cheers from the crowd and from Eijiro and Sherry from the class seating area. **"Versus his classmate and my personal pick for this match: Ochako Uraraka!"** The gravity girl was met with equal cheers and even more cheers from her classmates.

"What do you think of this match, pally?" quietly muttered Hajikeru with a firm expression.

"You know I don't have much to work with, Haji," quietly replied the electro-teen. He was met with a single raised eyebrow on the bubble teen's face that stated 'are you serious?' to which he promptly continued his observation. "But going by the time we spent getting Hagakure's new Quirk ability working and from the results from the Entrance Exam, I would say this match favors Bakugo. He got the top rank simply by Bot points, so it's a safe bet to say he's a fighting monster."

The bubble teen frowned at that observation, but knew his friend wasn't wrong. He knew Katsuki was easily the strongest fighter in Class 1-A, maybe even in their entire first year class. His physical prowess was unmatched and he would dominate the fight if it was direct hand-to-hand combat. He wasn't one to toy with his opponent or test the waters with a fraction of his power. He fought all-out, no matter the opponent.

"It may favor him, but that also means she has a chance."

"Maybe, but then again I haven't seen what these two can actually do, so my points don't carry anything of value."

"Don't worry, guys," spoke up Mina from behind the duo. "Uraraka's got this!"

"I wish I shared your enthusiasm, Mina," Tsuyu said, her normally blank face slightly worried with her eyebrows curved upward.

 **"Let the Sixth Match of the Tournament… BEGIN!"**

 **(Not to be a stickler or anything, but this fight pretty much follows the canon material. So, you know how this song and beatdown goes. Ochako sets up killer strategy, Pro Hero complains like an amateur sidekick, amateur sidekick gets roasted by Mummy man, killer strategy go boom boom, and here we are.)**

 _Later_

"Damn it…" Hajikeru looked on in frustration as he saw what remained of Ochako's 'Graviton Meteor Shower', as she called it. "That was a really good set up."

"An impressive plan," stated Denryoku. "But he had the power to counter it, unfortunately."

"Uraraka…" whispered Izuku as he saw his brunette friend laying on the ground. Her still form was being checked on by Midnight, to which she gave the verdict of the fight.

 **"Uraraka is unable to continue! Bakugo is the winner!"**

 **"Aw man…"** muttered out Present Mic in disappointment. **"I was really rooting for her that match… Oh yeah, I guess Bakugo is moving on."**

 **"You're supposed to be unbiased, Mic,"** Eraserhead berated.

 **"Whatever…"**

The Class 1-A students could only stare helplessly as they saw Ochako be carried away by security bots, no doubt to Recovery Girl's Temporary Office. Izuku was the first one to leave the stands to check on his brunette friend with Tenya right behind him. The next ones to leave the seating area were Tsuyu and Momo, as their match was next.

"Poor Uraraka," Kyoka muttered. "That was a badass move she set up, but… damn."

"I've made my decision…" Minoru said with his hands together in a pondering position. "Bakugo plays for the other team." Sputtered laughter could be heard from some of the students from the little grape teen's conclusion while a larger number of glares were thrown his way.

"I guess Bakugo's the next guy I'm fighting," admitted Hajikeru with a tense tone in his voice before groaning and throwing his head back. "This is gonna suck."

"I don't blame you for being nervous," spoke Denryoku from beside him. "From that display alone, he didn't show any hesitation or restraint against his opponent and his reaction time is top notch. And on top of that, his Quirk is extraordinarily versatile, using the blasts for powerful offense, distraction, and maneuverability. Anyone would have a hard time against him."

"Um… Emera?" Tooru said in a quiet tone as she poked his shoulder. The electro-teen looked back at the invisible girl to see a floating glove pointing at the seat beside him. To his right was his best friend, eyes wide with pupils and irises reduced to pink slits with furrowed eyebrows, body completely stiff, and bubbles systematically being blown out one at a time through his teeth.

"Eh, he'll be fine." Many of the Class 1-A students were very disturbed with how nervous Hajikeru looked, but then sweatdropped at the blunt statement by the lone Class 1-B student.

"Hey, welcome back, Bakugo!" called out Eijiro to their new arrival.

"What's up, villain of the game?" Hanta called out.

"Shut it, Soy Sauce Face!" roared Katsuki as he sat down onto an empty seat in front of Eijiro and Sherry.

"I dunno, Mr. Explody Rocks," replied Sherry, the change in nickname causing the explosive teen to glare at her. "You did seem pretty villainous to me. I can't believe you did that to poor Uraraka."

"Tch… There's hardly anything poor about Round Face."

 _After the Seventh Match_

The seventh match of the first round ended in quite the disappointing turn up, not only to the audience but to one of the contestants as well.

Tsuyu started the match with a jump kick from her starting position, to which Momo created a shield to defend against. The creation girl quickly retaliated by swinging a newly created staff from her arm. The frog girl quickly dodged the attack and continuously used her tongue and legs to keep the pressure on her opponent, keeping her on the defensive. While Momo did hold back Tsuyu's barrage of attacks, she wasn't aware of how close her placement was to the edge of the ring. All it took was one strong kick to the shield that she was holding to force her out of bounds.

 **"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds!"** Midnight announced. **"Asui moves on to the next round!"**

…

…

…

 **"Okay, where the hell is Present Mic!?"**

 **"He went to use the bathroom** , **Midnight,"** Shota spoke in his uncaring voice.

'He's getting 20 across the ass now…' thought a severely irritated and steaming Midnight.

Not expecting the outcome of the fight to turn out like it did, Momo left the arena looking completely dejected over her loss. Tsuyu went along with her to try to comfort her and while the taller girl did seem to smile at the frog girl, it was nothing but a façade to hide her distress.

 _Match 8: Denryoku Emera vs. Denki Kaminari_

 **"IIIIIT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND!"** announced the Voice Hero after a brief absence involving a bad batch of tokoyaki. **"And what better way to send this first round off than an electrifying finale! In this corner, we have the stone faced Vice President of Class 1-B that has really been under the radar if we're being honest: Denryoku Emera!** Said electro teen simply retained his deadpanned expression while he observed his opponent, completely ignoring the subtle jab from the Voice Hero. **"And in this corner, its Class 1-A's own thunder-stricken powerhouse: Denki Kaminari!"** The electric teen simply kept his sharp, comical gaze on his opponent, a feat he's been keeping up since they both left the Class 1-A seating area.

 _Meanwhile_

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Hajikeru spoke as he rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"It'll be interesting, that's for certain," Mezo spoke, using his tentacle to speak. "I'm curious to see how Emera's Quirk will work against Kaminari." Both Mina and Tooru nodded excitedly at that statement, none of which have seen the electro teen's Quirk in action.

"Have we missed the last match?" Tenya called out, adamant as ever.

"Nope, you're right on time, Iida." The bubble teen was curious when he spotted Izuku and Ochako by Tenya's side, one of them looking elated and the other looking a bit puffy around the eyes, respectively. "I'm guessing it went well then, guys?"

"Yeah," replied Izuku as he wiped his eyes of moisture. "Yeah, it went good, Utakata. Thanks for asking."

"My eyes hurt a little, but I'll be fine," Ochako replied as her eyes seemed to steam. The quartet of friends simply smiled at the good result from their friend's earlier loss.

"Hey, Utakata?" Eijiro called out from across the seating area, gaining Hajikeru's attention. "You sure your friend can handle Kaminari? How's he going to get past his electric attacks?"

"Hehe… You'll see, Kirishima," confidently replied the bubble teen. 'I mean, it's an unfair matchup to pit them against each other, but they don't need to know that. Maybe Kaminari'll pull something on Denryo. Who knows?'

 _Back to the Action_

"Hey!" called out Denki to his opponent. "Just to be clear, I still don't believe you're not looking for how to take my classmates down!"

"As I've said before," replied Denryoku with a steady gaze, his hands remaining in his pockets. "I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm just looking to win this match."

"You never said that before!"

The electro teen stayed quiet before replying to the comment. "Oh yeah, that's right. Forget I said the first part." Denki could only lower his brows in irritation, getting the feeling of being mocked.

 **"Let the last match of the first round… BEGIN!"**

At the start of the match, a massive amount of yellow electricity began to surge from Denki's person. From across the field, Denryoku shot up an eyebrow, intrigued by the output of electricity from his opponent.

"I'll end this thing in one shot!" shouted Denki with a confident smirk. "Normally, I wouldn't use this attack around people because of its wild range, but it's perfect in a one-on-one fight."

Denryoku simply furrowed his eyebrows and removed his hands from his pockets, rubbing the studs on his thumb and index fingers together as an anticipating habit. There was a spark of green from between the studs.

"This'll be over in a flash!" The electricity surrounding Denki's person began to fluctuate, a sign his attack was about to be unleashed. "Indiscriminate Shock… 1.3 Million Volts!"

A surge of yellow electricity began to dance sporadically throughout the arena, causing Midnight and Cementoss to avoid the attack themselves.

As the powerful attack was quickly approaching the intended target, Denryoku lifted up both hands and placed the studs on his fingertips to the opposing hand, leaving a very small space in between them. The yellow electricity made contact with the studs and instead of electrocuting the electro teen, it simply kept being attracted and flowing into the studs. During the entire time, the lightning completely unaffected the intended target, causing Denki a good deal of confusion. When the attack ceased, there was yellow electricity sparking from the studs on Denryoku's fingertips and he was panting heavily while his arms violently shook and sparked.

Denki was… well…

"Wheeeeeeeeeey," Denki bumbled out with both his thumbs up.

'That was a lot more than I was able to handle,' shakily thought Denryoku. 'I have to discharge most of it before I can move.' With a deep breath, the studs on his fingertips began to spark electric-green electricity to replace the foreign yellow and his eyes turned into a bright, equally green color. With a shout, he fired off a massive amount of electricity into the sky from his fingertips, slightly illuminating the stadium in a green light.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Holy shit!" cried out Eijiro in surprise. "That's a lot of electricity!"

"Huh… So that's what Discharge looks like when he absorbs 1.3 million volts of electricity," Hajikeru said in amusement, completely oblivious to the astonished looks from his classmates.

"Uh… Hey, Utakata?" got out Mina, still reeling from the show of electrical power. Said bubble teen turned to find his acidic friend leaning in close to him. "What do you mean when you say 'when he absorbs 'so-and-so' electricity'?"

"Well, his body can only hold so much electricity, so he needs to lose the excess to have full control of his body again."

"So it's like when a dam reaches its maximum capacity and it needs to release excess water to avoid collapsing," Fumikage stated from beside Mezo.

"Eh… Something like that, Tokoyami." The bubble teen looked over to his right to see Izuku frantically muttering and writing in his Hero Notebook, greatly disturbing his classmates. He quietly chuckled before calling out to the meek teen. "Enjoying yourself, Midoriya?"

"Huh!?" Izuku snapped out of his stupor when he was called out by the bubble teen, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, did you say something Utakata?"

"Wow, those are really neat notes you got on Emera, Deku," Ochako said as she leaned onto Izuku's shoulder to view his notes, causing the meek teen to blush up a storm.

"Lemme see that. I'll fact check." Izuku passed his Hero Notebook to Hajikeru at his request. 'Hm… let's see… Highly conductive material at the fingertips/pads (Check), electrical storage held within arms (Not accurate, but close), Electric-green electricity (that one's obvious), nerve or muscle affliction from exceeded voltage limit (Wow, that's really observant), some personality details about the guy, and some details about the nature of electricity that was fired off…' "These are pretty good observations, Midoriya." Hajikeru passed back the Hero Notebook to its cherry-faced owner. He didn't want to flat out tell anyone if they were accurate or not out of respect for his best friend."Are you sure your second Quirk isn't Quirk Analysis?" he cheerily asked.

"Yeah… I'm certain I don't have another Quirk, Utakata," replied the meek teen, still flustered from Ochako's still close proximity.

 _Back to the Action_

After discharging the excess electricity from his body, Denryoku could feel the feeling in his arms and fingers again after a couple of flexes. His eyes remained the bright, electric-green color.

"Much better," breathed out the electro teen. "Now then, what to do with... what in the…" The electro teen was stopped in his tracks at the sight of his opponent's appearance.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeey," repeated Denki, still dopey as when his attack finished. He was wandering around with no particular direction in mind and holding his thumbs out. Denryoku heard many people from the audience laugh at his opponent's state. Hearing the many sounds of laughter brought up a memory from many years ago.

" _You're kidding me, right!? You can't be a Hero with that Quirk!"_

" _What kind of Hero uses bubbles to fight crime? A crappy one! That's who!"_

" _Talk about a lame Quirk. What are you going to do? Get soap in my eyes?"_

Those insults my not have been thrown at him, but Denryoku knew what it was like for his best friend to be made a mockery of when he was trying his hardest to prove he is capable of being a Hero. And he projected those feelings towards the bumbling blond in front of him.

'You're not done yet,' thought Denryoku as the studs on both hands began to spark green electricity. 'Not until you prove yourself.'

He approached the electric blond with intimidation clear in his face, causing said dopey blond to back away in visible fear. He may not have much intelligence at the moment, but his survival instinct was telling him that Denryoku was dangerous. The green eyed teen grabbed Denki on both sides of his head and discharged a substantial amount of electricity into the blond. After some dopey screaming, Denki's face suddenly reverted back to his normal face, along with his voice.

"Aaaaah!" yelled the electric blond. "Where am I!? How did tha—" He never finished his barrage of questions, as his stomach was suddenly impacted by a round house kick after his opponent released his face. He fell to the ground on his back, his breath knocked out of his lungs.

"Get up," commanded a majorly pissed off Denryoku.

"What the hell was that for?" groaned Denki as he shakily stood up, still reeling from the kick. "Better yet, how the hell am I not stupid right now? How did you do that!?"

"I'm not in the mood to answer your questions, Kaminari."

The blond wasn't able to get out a response out in time as he was at the mercy of Denryoku's constant attacks, both with and without his Quirk. Despite being good at dodging, Denki's head was hurting from the electricity forced into his head, which caused his reflexes to be shot. To many, it was difficult to watch the poor blond get constantly attacked and hurt by the green eyed teen as he feebly tried to defend himself.

After some time of getting his ass handed to him, Denki finally went on the offensive with his cloak of yellow electricity. But like when he used his Indiscriminate Shock at the beginning of the match, every time Denryoku's studs made contact with his cloak, it shrinks and gets absorbed into his opponent. It then gets released into a bolt of green electricity, which damages him but also keeps him from losing his mental capacity. It hurt more than it helped, but it kept him in the game.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"He's getting destroyed out there," Rikido muttered out, mirroring his disturbed expression with the rest of the students.

"I knew he was bad news," spoke Kyoka in digust.

"That is definitely not manly," muttered out Eijiro.

"What the heck is Emera doing?" Ochako whispered in a concerned tone. "Why didn't he push out Kaminari?"

"It could be because Denryo was pissed off at him for self destructing himself on the first minute," simply replied Hajikeru as he watched the fight with interest. "I really don't know what his angle is here."

"That is hardly a reason to completely go off on Kaminari!" shouted Tenya with his chopping hands. "If he were smart about moving on, he would have eliminated Kaminari when he went over his wattage limit instead of acting like a brute to him!"

"I don't know what to tell you Iida, but I can tell you this." The bubble teen gained the attention of most of his classmates. "He wouldn't have done what he did without reason, so maybe he kept Kaminari in the game to get a decent fight out of him."

"But, he's completely overpowering him down there," Izuku countered. "What's the point of bringing him back in the fight if he's just going to overmatch him?"

"Better than self destructing in the first minute, right?"

It was a question that hung over the students well after the fight was over.

 _Back to the Action_

Denki stumbled back as he tanked another bolt of electricity from his opponent. He was feeling too many influxes in brain activity, constantly going from fully aware to a bit stupid and back within the span of seconds. Denryoku was fast and didn't waste any movement with his attacks. Even if he simply grazes Denki's skin, he absorbs a bit of electricity from him and uses it against him when he gathers enough. He was in a losing fight, and it was becoming apparent with every strike and bolt that hit him.

"By now, you're becoming aware of how pointless this is, aren't you?" Denryoku spoke in an intimidating tone. "You haven't even tried to counterattack any of my attacks. I'm disappointed I even bothered with you." He was still in great condition, having not taken a single bit of damage besides the slight tingling feeling in his arms from the opening move.

"So what if you're disappointed?" snapped back Denki as he shook off the effects of the electric bolt his just tanked. There was a defiant look in his eye, almost taunting. "I'm not done yet. As long as I'm still standing, I still have a chance at beating you."

Denryoku quietly snorted at his opponent's reply before going on the attack again. He attacked even faster than before, not giving his opponent even an inch of leeway. The cloak that surrounded the electric blond was completely gone, but it wasn't by his own hands. His opponent had done it himself.

'He knows keeping the cloak up would help me more than it would him, so he decided not to use it,' observed Denryoku. 'He's feeling out the situation and adapting to it. Good.'

The green eyed teen threw a sparking, open palm towards his opponent, looking to grab his face and take him down. Denki quickly dodged the attack, to Denryoku's slight surprise, and grabbed his opponent by the arm with both of his.

"You're finished, for real this time!" shouted the electric blond in a confident smirk. "Taser Shockwave… 300,000 Volts!"

The absent electricity from the electric blond came roaring to life, cloaking both Denki and Denryoku in a yellow light of electrical discharge. The crowd came alive at the blond's counterattack, seeing it as retribution for the brutal display earlier. Even most of the Class 1-A students came alive due the display.

Once it died down, however, it was made clear that the counterattack was for naught. Denki reverted to his dopey self, complete with thumbs up and wandering habit and Denryoku's body was shaking from the electricity that was coursing through his body not too long ago. His arms and legs were shaking from the electrical output, indicating he was over his electrical storage limit, and he was panting heavily. There was a raging red mark from where Denki had taken hold of his now limp arm, a sign that he did cause damage to the electro teen. He pointed one of his hands into the sky and discharged a small amount of electricity to remove the excess, like he did before. Once done, he walked towards the dopey blond near the end of the ring, where Denki unintentionally wandered to, and delivered a small shock into his head to regain his consciousness.

"Aaaah!" shouted an angry Denki, regaining some of his semblance back. At the same time, he went to grab his side in pain, as it was one of the clean hits Denryoku landed during the second barrage of attacks. "Dude, again!? Seriously!? That hurts, you know!"

"You did well, Kaminari," Denryoku spoke with his trademark deadpanned tone, causing the blond to stop his verbal rant in its tracks. "But next time, be smarter with your Quirk."

"Wait… What?"

With a quick straight punch to the shoulder that resulted in the latter landing on his buns, Denryoku eliminated a confused Denki from the Tournament.

 **"Kaminari is out of bounds!"** Midnight announced. **"Emera moves on to the next round!"**

 **"And that kids is why green electricity is better than yellow electricity!"** commentated the Voice Hero.

 **"That's not a real thing outside of Quirks, Mic,"** Shota spoke in his nonchalant tone.

 **"WELL SHOULD BE A THING! Anyway, that does it for the first round of the Tournament! Tune back in 15 minutes to witness more carnage as the Tournament enters the Quarterfinals!"**

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"What kind of ending was that?!" Minoru shouted in frustration.

"I didn't think Kaminari would actually be able to touch him," Tsuyu spoke with a reply. "Didn't really look like it did much to him, though."

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that coming," muttered bubble teen. Almost immediately, almost every student in Class 1-A was giving him a heated look. "What? What did I say?"

"You knew Kaminari was going to lose this fight?!" Minoru shouted in further frustration. "And you didn't bother telling him about it?!"

"Hey, I wanted the fight to be fair! If I told him about Denryo's Quirk, then he would be prepared for the fight and Denryo would have a slightly harder time beating him!"

"Wow, way to put your friends before your classmates, Utakata," Sherry said absentmindedly, causing some of the class to snort at the blonde's verbal blunder.

"Yes, thank you for spelling it out for me, Teikiatsu!"

"I… Oh wait, I screwed that up. Let me try that again—"

"Can you idiots shut up?" growled Katsuki from in front of the sandy blonde.

"What's this?!" shouted a certain sardonic blond peeking past the wall that divided Classes 1-A and 1-B. "Did someone from Class 1-A really lose to someone from Class 1-B?! Aren't you supposed to be better than us? And it looked like our Vice President had poor Thunder-Dolt on the ropes the entire time. I wonder if he even knew he was doomed from the start. The poor fool even had to get a handicap from him twice just to make it through the match! Doesn't that make your blood boil in frustration, seeing how helpless he was to even make an attempt to win!?"

Class 1-A was completely floored by the constant barrage of insults thrown at them and Denki, who just now left the arena after Denryoku. Only one person in Class 1-A was completely unaffected by the rapid fire insults.

"Hey, Monoma," casually greeted Hajikeru to Class 1-A's surprise. "Did you just come back from Recovery Girl's office?"

"I have not done such a thing because I didn't need to, you 1-A clown," harshly replied Neito as he set his eyes on the bubble teen.

"Oh yeah… I forgot she doesn't heal broken egos."

An immediate reaction from the Class 1-A students, and even the Class 1-B students that were listening in, was to either cackle like a maniac or sputter and hold in a laugh from the comment.

Maybe Neito needed to see Recovery Girl to get that burn checked out.

"Thanks for reminding me, Monoma," added the bubble teen, completely 'oblivious' to what he just told the sardonic blond.

"I don't need to be told off by some pathetic bubble blower with a Quirk so useless, he could be—" The sardonic blond's rant was cut off by a chop to the neck by a girl with burnt-orange hair set in a side ponytail and emerald green eyes with white pupils.

"Sorry about him, Class 1-A," Itsuka said as she popped her head into the spot where Neito was previously before his chop induced sleep. "He can be a bit of a handful most of the time, so ignore anything he may have said. Oh, and sorry about what he was about to say, Utakata."

"It's alright," replied Hajikeru. "He should really get that ego checked, though."

"Alright, then." Itsuka then turned to the rest of the class and did what was supposed to be a bow. "I'm looking forward to working with all of you in the near future. Hopefully this idiot hasn't ruined that opportunity with his mindless banter."

At that point, most of Class 1-A collectively had the same thought about the orange haired girl.

'She's too good to us.'

 _Stadium Tunnels_

"Ow, ow, ow. Crap, this hurts," Denki hissed as he limped in pain. He was being helped through the tunnels to Recovery Girl's Office by Denryoku, who took it upon himself to help out the electric blond.

"Yeah, I might have gone a bit overboard with the beat down," he said in his typical deadpanned tone.

"Oh really? I didn't notice!"

"I did."

Denki just groaned at the sarcastic retort his fellow electric-Quirk user just made. He then went to ask a question that's been on his mind for a good portion of his fight.

"Hey, Emera. I got something to ask you."

"What?"

"Why did you snap me out of my stupid phase at the beginning of the match? That would've been an easy win for you if you pushed me out. So why?"

The electro teen held his nonchalant gaze forward when he replied.

"The Tournament's purpose is to show off what you and your Quirk can do to the Pros. It's a scouting session for everyone participating in it. As to why I did what I did, I wanted to earn my win. I refuse to win without getting a proper fight out of it."

Denryoku thought back to when the stadium was laughing at Denki and he was reminded of his time in primary school. When he and Hajikeru were growing up, the latter was always the butt of the joke when it came to how strong one's Quirk was. They laughed at his face when he stated he wanted to be a Hero, something even he admitted to doing when they first met. But he changed his view of the bubble Quirk user when he saw how serious he was about his dream, though it didn't stop the laughter from everyone around him. Following the fallout of a particular incident, he openly defended his best friend whenever he was being laughed at or made fun of by anyone in their classes. It resulted in many of his previous friends to ignore him, since he would rather hang out with Hajikeru instead of with them, but he didn't care.

During the match, he was reminded by the old memories when Denki was dopey faced and the audience was laughing at him. So he decided to help him out, under the guise that he wanted a good fight. He didn't know if it helped or not. It just felt like he needed to do something.

"For what it's worth, thanks for not throwing me out of the ring when I couldn't even function," Denki said in a grateful tone. "Not many people would be that merciful."

"Like I said before, I have my reasons."

"Um… Dude, you didn't say that."

"I didn't?... Oh right. I specified instead of saying that I had my own reasons. Forget I said that."

"What the hell…"

 **AN: So this is where the chapter officially ends, buuuut there's a little side story with our favorite trio of friends. Soooooo... Here.**

 _Side Story: Talk amongst Friends_

 _It was after Ochako's one sided loss to Katsuki in the Tournament and Izuku and Tenya were both looking to check up on her. They had encountered the explosive blond by the stairwell, but the conversation only last a moment before they were on their way the Recovery Girl's Office. When they got there, they were expecting their friend to upset by the brutal defeat, but…_

 _"Hehehe, I guess I lost," Ochako spoke in a loud, cheery voice, to the two boy's confusion. "I guess got a little carried away at the very end with that Graviton Meteor Shower. I still need to work on it some more."_

 _"Uraraka?" softly spoke Izuku. "Are you alright?"_

 _"Hm? Oh hey Deku, Iida. I'm perfectly fine! Recovery Girl patched up all of the big injuries, so I'm only left with some scrapes and bruises."_

 _"I assume it's to keep your stamina from draining entirely, Uraraka?" Tenya observed._

 _"Yup." She then started shaking her fist in frustration as her face was adorably scrunched up. "I had no idea Bakugo was so darn tough. I couldn't even touch him with my Quirk! I really need to try much harder next time!"_

 _The trio was met with silence with the exaggerated display of frustration finished. Even the girl who did the display felt like it was a bit much._

 _"You sure you're alright, Uraraka," asked Izuku with concern evident in his voice._

 _"Yeah! Sure I am, Deku! I'm just doing what you taught me." This got the two boys to focus in their brunette friend with the taller of the two observing from behind the glare on his glasses. "You're always eagerly looking ahead to the next challenge and I want to live by that. I may have lost today, but I don't want to feel that feeling of losing again." Ochako had a sincere smile on her face as she spoke the latter bit of her dialogue, but then there's the bit before that._

 _"May I say something, Uraraka?" Tenya started, catching the gravity girl off guard._

 _"Um… sure Iida, what is it?" softy asked Ochako._

 _"Do you trust Midoriya and I enough to call us your friends?" The brunette was confused as to why Tenya would ask such question._

 _"Iida, we shouldn't pry into her personal business" quietly whispered Izuku to his speedy friend._

 _"Sorry, Midoriya," whispered back Tenya. "But I cannot allow Uraraka to bear this weight by herself. We need to do this."_

 _"What kind of question is that, Iida? Of course you're my friends. You and Deku are the closest friends I have here in U.A."_

 _"Then will you confide in us as to why you're upset?"_

 _Ochako's eyes widen at the prospect of being caught hiding her emotions from her two closest friends. Even Izuku, who originally had the intention of staying out of her business, couldn't deny that she was upset by the loss against Katsuki._

 _"W-what are you talking about, Iida? I-I'm fine. I'm just fine."_

 _"Uraraka…" Izuku was clearly hurt by the denial brought about his friend, but he needed to get to her somehow. "When I came to U.A., my goal was to become a Hero that smiles in the face of danger and assures people that everything is going to be fine." He needed to put their dreams in the forefront of their conversation to show they were going for similar goals. "Iida's goal is to become just like his brother, a wonderful hero that upholds the Hero code." It means he needed to bring the source of her inspiration and frustrations to the forefront too. "And you said your goal was to give your parents the life they deserve by becoming an amazing Hero and make a lot of money to support them, right?"_

 _Ochako looked on with eyes wide open as she stared at the meek teen in shock. She didn't want the source of her frustrations to be out in the open, but her two closest friends completely dissected the situation to the letter. She honestly wanted to deny them, but she couldn't find the words to do so. They were just too smart to think otherwise._

 _She felt the phone ring from her pocket and silently thanked whoever it was, though she immediately retracted that thanks when she saw the caller ID._

 _'Daddy'_

 _"Um… I need to take this," meekly said Ochako._

 _"Of course," replied Tenya._

 _"Sure," Izuku replied as both boys made their way out. "We'll be outside."_

 _The gravity girl simply nodded in acknowledgement as she pressed the answer key on her phone._

 _Outside, Izuku was a complete wreck of nerves and frustration, not unlike his brunette friend._

 _'We never should have tried to pry into her business,' thought Izuku. 'It was obvious that she wasn't fine, but we didn't have the right to confront her about it. Damn it… I feel so helpless.'_

 _"Midoriya." The meek teen turned to see his speedy friend looking like much less of an emotional wreck, but still looking regretful. "I understand your frustrations, but there isn't much we can do right now. The only thing we can do now is to be there for our friend when she needs us."_

 _Izuku can only nod in affirmation, albeit with some hesitation. It wasn't their place to interfere in business that wasn't theirs._

 _But then again, the essence of being a true Hero is to interfere in business that wasn't their own… Right?_

 _It was some time before Ochako emerged from the office. Her face was completely drenched in tears and her form was shaking as she held her phone, having just finished the conversation with her father. They heard her talking about her insecurities and her rush to repay her parents while she talked to him and it was followed by sobbing that lasted the rest of the conversation._

 _"Uraraka, I wanted to—"_

 _"I'm sorry, Urara—"_

 _Both boys' apology to their brunette friend was cut off by said friend throwing herself to them. She held two of her closest friends around the neck in a desperate hug, reveling in the comfort they emitted._

 _"Thank you…" she muttered with some of her usual bubbly-ness coming through her sobs._

 _Tenya simply replied with a solid return of a hug and Izuku, while originally flustered by his friend's spontaneous action, returned the hug as best he could. It was his first hug outside of his mom, so he decided to go with it for however long it lasted._

 **Yep. A little more bonding compared to the official material. One question that always bothered me about this particular moment is: Why didn't Tenya go with Izuku to check on Ochako after her match? I honestly couldn't think of a reason why. Also, Momo goes out in the same way as she did with Fumikage, except this time it was Tsuyu doing the damage... Not gonna lie, I can't write a better author's note right now because I'm tired as hell. Too many things happening at once right now. Also, I tried to edit some of the earlier chapters to make them run smoother, but the stupid site decided to erase my progress before I hit save... And as you may not know right now, I'm absolutely livid. I'm off to kill some character models that spill blood when I shoot them. I'll be back.**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 7/14/19**

 **You guessed it! I'm suffering, yet again, from writers block and I needed to do something that made me feel useful! YAY! So, a bunch of dialogue changes and a minor change in the content. That's it.)**


	11. The UA SF: The Tournament Quarterfinals

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Nice job out there, pally," commented Hajikeru at the arrival of his best friend. "I'm guessing you didn't need to see Recovery Girl for your injuries?"

"The only parts of me that got injured were my arms and legs and that was only from the overload of electricity I got from Kaminari's attacks," simply replied Denryoku as he shook off his arms. "It's perfectly fine now."

"What about Kaminari?"

"He went to see Recovery Girl. I might have been little too rough on him."

"You damn right you were!" Hanta said with anger clear as he challenged the electro teen. "You had the upper hand since the match started! There was no point in dragging the fight on!"

"That wasn't very manly!" Eijiro exclaimed.

"You said he was cool, Utakata!" Rikido berated.

"Guys, relax!" replied Haijkeru as he tried to dissolve the situation. "I told you, he's got his reasons for keeping Kaminari in the game and now that he's here, he can tell you guys. Tell 'em, Denryo!"

"I wanted him to take a few shots at me before I beat him," Denryoku said in a straightforward manner.

Hajikeru rapidly turned to his best friend with his brows furrowed in confusion. "You... uh… wanna rephrase that?"

"No, but I appreciate the suggestion, Haji."

The entirety of Class 1-A was confused by the electro teen's response. Some of the more observant of the class thought back to what their bubble-blowing classmate said earlier, about what was preferred: to self destruct in the first minutes of a match or to put up a feeble attempt to fight back despite the inevitable defeat. An optimistic thought that passed through their heads was that Denryoku purposefully kept their electric blond classmate in the game to keep him from being underestimated in the eyes of the public. It was possible, but at the same time, they couldn't really tell with how unusual his behavior is.

To the rest of the class, however, that statement just came around as cocky, thus the glares set on the electro teen.

"And with that, I'll see you later, Haji. Good luck in your next match."

"Yeah… thanks, man…" Hajikeru made his way down the stairs to where his friends are as Denryoku left the 1-A seating area. 'Yeah… luck… That's what I'm gonna need next match. Ugh, this next match is gonna suck.'

 _Class 1-B Seating Area_

"Wooo! Go, Vice Rep!" cheered Setsuna as she and Juzo noticed their deadpanned friend approach their class's seating area. They were both at the top of the stands just discussing nothing in particular as they waited for the matches to resume.

"That guy didn't stand a chance, huh, Vice Rep?" Juzo asked in an upbeat tone.

"My Quirk's physical attributes worked as a natural counter against his own," simply replied Denryoku. "It was only a matter of time before I defeated him. Though I will admit, it took longer than I intended."

"'Only a matter of time' only applies if the match is even, Vice Rep," Juzo argued in good nature with a skeletal grin. "I think you kept him in the game to keep him from humiliating himself from his failed opening move. There were two opportunities for you to win by ring-out, but instead you kept 'fighting' him so he doesn't look stupid."

"What's this?!" Setsuna loudly questioned with false surprise in her voice. "Our own Vice Rep showing compassion and sympathy to his opponent?! What kind of universe have I stumbled into?!"

"Remind me. Why you two hang out with me, again?" Denryoku asked with a deadpanned expression, not phased in the slightest by the silly banter.

"Because you seem like a good friend and a reliable leader," replied the softening teen. "Once you get passed the nonchalant attitude, the lack of facial expressions, and blunt responses, you're a pretty decent guy, Vice Rep."

The electro teen raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly genuine statement from the Juzo.

"Everything he said, plus the fact that you're kind of a badass!" declared the green haired girl excitedly.

It had all started with their second day of class with their first Heriocs Class with their homeroom teacher, Sekijiro Kan aka the Blood Hero: 'Vlad King'. The entire class essentially played a glorified match of capture the flag with seven teams of three, with Denryoku, Juzo, and Setsuna on a team. The electro teen did a large amount of the planning with Juzo and Setsuna giving extra input where necessary. Denryoku was the main offensive and Juzo played defense while Setsuna was their reconnaissance and distraction for the other teams. They won the match by holding a majority of the flags and earned extra praise for keeping their own flag in their designated area. After that day, the two students began to hang around Denryoku whenever they were in class, though they didn't do it often outside of class out of respect to his personal space.

At this point, he was just wondering how long they would stick around before they simply get tired of him and his personality problems. It's happened before, so why wouldn't it happen now?

 _Round 2- Match 1: Izuku Midoriya vs. Shoto Todoroki_

 **"IIIIIT'S TIIIIME FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT!"** announced the Voice Hero. **"We're gonna start this next round off with a real doozy folks! In this corner, we have the mean, green, fighting machine that has tackled every obstacle we've thrown at him with flying colors: Izuku Midoriya!"** Instead of the uneasy look of determination that he had last round, Izuku had a look of pure determination. Very unlike him, though not unwarranted after his encounter with Endeavour. **"And in this corner, riding through the competition with an iceberg and a half in his back pocket at all times: Shoto Todoroki!"** The half-white, half-redhead continued to stare down his opponent for this match, his previous match's malice still somewhat present.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"What do you think, guys?" Hajikeru asked to his fellow classmates, his voice oddly serious. "Midoriya or Todoroki. And be honest."

"As much as I would like to say Midoriya, I think he's ill equipped to take on someone like Todoroki," Mezo replied with Fumikage nodding in agreement.

"Midoriya could probably hold back Todoroki for a few moments, but I believe it would end in Todoroki's favor," Momo added.

"Don't get me wrong. I like Midoriya, but he doesn't have a chance against someone like Todoroki," Denki said. He had gotten back to the Class 1-A seating area just before the next match started, having visited Recovery Girl to get all his major injuries healed.

"Deku's got this," Ochako stated with conviction, drawing some looks from her classmates and friends. "He knows Todoroki is strong, but he's not going to let it get the best of him. He can do this!"

Hajikeru sent a sad smile in the gravity girl's direction before drawing his focus on the fight about to occur. 'As much as I want to be optimistic about Midoriya's chances, it not looking good for him. Todoroki's control over his Ice Quirk is stupidly great and he made sure we knew it. The only way to properly counter that is to do what he did during the Quirk Assessment Test. But he's got to be completely nuts to use his Quirk that many times. Anything he does to be effective in this round will drop his chances of winning not only this match, but the ones after this if he does manage to move on.'

It was going to be a hard fought match, and both contestants will come out of it with scars to address.

 **"Let the first match of the second round… BEGIN!"**

 **(Hi, welcome back the author note portion of the fanfic. You know the drill. Skipping fight because it goes the same way: Izuku overuses the shit out of his hands, Shoto gets back story about why he no likey Fire side, epic clash that almost blew up the arena, ect. ect. Now for the results... I am such a pace killer, I know, but it saves me time to get to the stuff that is actually different. Okay, I'm done.)**

 **"Midoriya is out of bounds!"** Midnight announced at the sight Izuku collapsing near the arena entrance. **"Todoroki moves on to the next round!"**

 **"WHAT AN EXPLOSIVE FINALE TO A HIGH INTENSITY MATCH!"** the Voice Hero shouted, to his partner's chagrin. **"I really doubt anything that comes after is going to top that!"** His attention was then drawn to the state of the arena, in all its crumbled and… melted?... glory. **"Okay, we're gonna be taking another break for our resident industrialist, Cementoss, to fix the ring for the next match. We'll be right back after these messages!"** His fellow commentator simply shook his head in submission, not feeling the drive to correct his choice of words.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

After seeing Izuku collapse to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut and later get carted away by security robots, Ochako immediately left the stands to check on her friend, closely followed by Tenya, Tsuyu, and Minoru. After they left, Hajikeru, Mina, Tooru, and Mezo decided to check on their friend as well after hearing Present Mic say they were going to need time to fix the arena. As they walked they were surrounded by a heavy silence, no doubt from witnessing Izuku destroy himself in an effort to get Shoto it use his Fire Quirk. It was a difficult fight to watch and it was just made worse after seeing their friend collapse in a bloody mess.

'He should have stopped after using his left arm to counter that ice,' contemplated Hajikeru. 'He used up the fingers on his right hand and his entire left arm to counter Todoroki, for a total of 6 shots, but then he kept using his Quirk on his broken fingers to kept him back. Why? This doesn't make any sense. Why provoke him into using his Fire Quirk?'

"You're awfully quiet, Utakata," Mezo stated to Hajikeru. Said bubble teen noticed his two female friends were some distance ahead of him and their multi-armed friend. "Something on your mind?"

"I'm trying to figure out why Midoriya kept going with the match," stated the bubble teen, his slightly taller friend listening. "I'll admit, it wasn't going to be an easy task to knockout or ring-out someone like Todoroki, but seeing him use his Quirk like that when his fingers are already broken was just… hard to watch." His eyes were hardened in a stiff gaze as he tried to makes sense of what he just witnessed.

"Maybe he can shed some light on his motives if he's willing to speak of them."

"I would hope so. It would definitely take one pain off my head."

Mezo silently raised an eyebrow at the last sentence his friend said before shelving it for later.

 _Match 2: Sherry Teikiatsu vs. Fumikage Tokoyami_

 **"Thanks for the repair job, Cementoss!"** the Voice Hero said to the cubicle hero, to which he bowed in appreciation. **"With the arena back to its normal state, it's time for the next match to get underway! And I'll let you people know now, this next match should be a real doozy! This time, we have the Whirlwind Mistress from Class 1-A: Sherry Teikiatsu!"** Once again, the buxom blonde could be seen doing her warm up stretches from one side of the field, her legs and arms noticeably wrapped in bandages. **"Versus the Shadow Knight of the same class: Fumikage Tokoyami!"** Said bird-headed teen simply held his falcon-like gaze on his opponent.

'So Tokoyami is going to be another toughy to get past,' Sherry contemplated as she called back to the bird teen's previous match, finishing her stretches as she thought about her opponent. 'He probably controls his little Quirk with his mind and it's pretty damn quick to boot. But it's not nearly as fast as Iida and his stupid Reci-whatsit. Category 3 should be more than enough to keep him on his toes. Hell, I could ignore the stupid bird altogether and just go after the source. But then, where's the fun in that?'

 **"Let the second match of the second round… BEGIN!"**

"Go forth, Dark Shadow!" Fumikage commanded to his Quirk.

"Yeah!" replied the sentient Quirk as he burst out of the bird teen's abdomen at high speeds.

The sandy blonde simply smirked at the speed of the shadowy bird approaching her. 'Definitely not as fast as Iida.'

"Gale Storm: Category 2!"

Swirling winds quickly formed and expended from around Sherry's legs, nimbly dodging the shadow crow's claw. The sentient Quirk quickly responded to the dodge by charging headfirst into the sandy blonde to headbutt her.

"Not gonna happen, birdie!" yelled the buxom blonde, the essence of her Quirk gathering around her fist. "Tornado Crush… Category 3!" An intense amount of wind pressure exploded into the shadow crow's head region, forcing it into the ground and creating a slight indent in the process. Seeing an opening in, Sherry sent off a Category 3 Gust Shot in Fumikage's direction. He was forced to dodge to avoid the ranged attack, causing him to lose his focus on giving Dark Shadow commands briefly. The blonde began her charge at the falcon-faced teen, forcing said teen to send his Quirk to stop her.

"Dark Shadow!" commanded Fumikage.

"Yo!" replied Dark Shadow, not appearing phased by the powerful punch in the slightest as he quickly went back on the offensive.

'No damage at all?!' internally screamed Sherry as she dodged away from the shadow crow's claws with a short burst of wind. 'Okay, this is not going to work. If Dark Shadow can just shrug off my attacks, especially my Tornado Crush, then I can't whittle it down and go after Tokoyami. Looks like I'm gonna need to get fancy if I wanna win this.' With a change in approach in mind, she decided to put some distance between her and Fumikage, causing the falcon-headed teen to be on edge.

The sandy blonde moved her arms into a familiar position from the previous match, fingers clenched into fists side by side, arms outstretched, and the essence of her Quirk rapidly swirling around her arms. Fumikage recognized that move as the one Sherry used to launch Tenya across the arena in the previous round.

"Typhoon Cannon…"

Knowing that it was a devastating move when it hit, even at range, Fumikage decided to take advantage of the opening by sending Dark Shadow to the occupied blonde.

"Dark Shadow, force her out! Now!" commanded Fumikage.

"You got it!" replied the sentient Quirk. The shadow crow sped towards his opponent at breakneck speed in an attempt to throw her out of the ring. As it approached the buxom blonde, the sentient Quirk threw both of its large claws forward in an attempt to box her in and prevent her from dodging the attack.

Unlike the situation with Tenya, Fumikage never saw the smirk from across the arena.

Sharply bending down by the hip, Sherry quickly changed her attack's trajectory downward and away from the shadow crow before releasing her attack.

"…Category 3!"

A familiar, lower intensity roar was unleashed from the sandy blonde's arms, launching her into the air above the center of the arena and surprising her opponent.

"Gotcha now, Tokoyami!" Sherry shouted to Fumikage as she was suspended in the air, her back facing the ground. "Gale Storm: Category 3!" She kicked off the air with her left leg, causing her to be within striking distance of the falcon-headed teen within a second. He wasn't able to react in time to even get a chance to dodge the incoming attack. A heavy thud was heard when the wind-enhanced kick impacted Fumikage's abdomen, causing him to fly out of the boundary line and onto the grass surrounding the arena. Dark Shadow followed shortly after.

 **"Tokoyami is out of bounds!"** announced the R-Rated Hero with extra vigor. **"Teikiatsu is the winner!"**

 **"Someone call Backdraft, because this girl is on FIRE!"** excitedly yelled Present Mic.

 **"Tokoyami's Quirk is definitely something to be wary of whilst in a fight, but he blocked his view of his opponent when he sent it out to attack Teikiatsu,"** explained the Eraser Hero. **"Had he kept his eyes on her, this fight may still be going on."**

 **"Well said, Eraserhead!"**

 _Earlier_

Having seen his meek friend all banged up in Recover Girl's Temporary Office, then being forced out of said office by the Youthful Heroine herself immediately after, Hajikeru opted to head straight to one of the available preparation rooms instead of his class's seating area. He was facing arguably the strongest student in his first year class and he was beyond nervous, four empty water bottles being evidence of this. His first match had him going up against an unknown person with an unknown Quirk. It was only the weak nature of his own Quirk that solidified his win, but didn't see it as a real victory.

Facing Katsuki in this round was going to be his first real test of how he and his Quirk really function in a combat situation. And he was terrified by the result being inadequate.

That being said, he forced himself to think back when his Quirk was nothing more than an organic bubble dispenser and to what it is now. Of course, that only prompted him to think if it was enough to even be qualified as a sidekick's power. It frustrated him to no end with how much he doubted himself right now.

It was then an idea hit him. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he scrolled down his list of contacts to find the intended person. Once he found it, he pressed the dial button and patiently waited for said person to answer. After waiting with baited breath, he finally received an answer.

"Haji?" answered a confused Hatsumi to her son. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"

"Hi, mom," Hajikeru greeted in a low tone, somewhat embarrassed to be calling his mother in the middle of a fighting tournament he was participating in. She was, however, the only person, besides Denryoku's mother, he would willingly ask for emotional support. "Do you have a minute?"

"Hey Hatsumi, is that Haji on the line?" asked the familiar voice of his pseudo-aunt, Seiryoku. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Hi Aunt Seiryo. I, uh… I needed someone to talk to, and… well…"

"You're nervous about your next match, aren't you sweetie?" answered his mother.

"A little bit…" He took a deep breath before continuing with his explanation. "You've seen what that guy can do, right? The one with the explosions? I… I'm scared about how much I'm going to let myself down if I lose. Is that weird? Or am I overthinking this thing?"

"Please, you worry too much, kiddo!" Seiryoku answered, causing Hajikeru to stop his doubt briefly. "I've seen my boys do more than that during their training sessions. That Bakugo kid has no idea who he's up against next!"

"Seiryoku's right, sweetheart!" added the bubble teen's mother. "You've worked hard to get into U.A. and you need to show everyone why you deserve to be here! But you know I would never force you to do something, so if you're not feeling up to your next fight then tell a teacher. We won't think less of you for it."

"But that's the problem, though," spoke the bubble teen, causing his maternal figures to listen in. "Everyone is giving it their all in this Sport's Festival and if I quit now, I can't say that I gave it my all."

"Haji, listen to me," Hatsumi spoke in a tender tone, causing Hajikeru to shift his eyes to his phone as he gave his mother his full attention. "You defied what people expected of you when you made your first successful Reinforced Bubble and again when you showed us your finished Pressure Bubble. You made it into U.A. because you wanted to reach your goal and you didn't let up then, so you shouldn't let up now. You're my son, Haji, and as your mother, all I want is to see you succeed at whatever you put your mind to. Me and Seiryo are always rooting for you and Denryoku. Remember that, sweetheart."

Hajikeru really didn't know what to say in this situation. Despite hearing those words of encouragement his whole life, it still amazed him over how genuine his mother and pseudo aunt sounded whenever they did say it. Both of them were only one of the many reasons why he never gave in to his dream and he was grateful for that every day of his life.

"Thanks mom, Aunt Seiryo," calmly spoke the bubble teen. "I really needed that."

"Any time, Haji," Seiryoku spoke in a comforting tone.

"The only thing you can do is your best, sweetie," Hatsumi sweetly said. "I'll be watching you and Denryoku in your upcoming matches."

"Okay. Thanks, mom. Thanks, Aunt Seiryo. I love you both."

"Love ya, kiddo!" happily replied Seiryoku. "Kick some butt for me!"

"I love you too, sweetheart," replied Hatsumi.

With newfound vigor, Hajikeru tapped the 'End Call' button on his phone and promptly stored it in one of the designated lockers given to the students participating in the tournament.

 **"Tokoyami is out of bounds!"** he heard the R-Rated Hero enthusiastically say through the walls of the prep room. **"Teikiatsu is the winner!"**

"I guess that's my cue."

And with that, the bubble teen made his way to the arena with determination clear on his face.

 _Match 3: Hajikeru Utakata vs. Katsuki Bakugo_

 **"Let's roll right into the third match of the quarterfinals, sports fans!"** the Voice Hero shouted. **"In this corner, we have the human bubble dispenser with a pop as strong as his bite: Hajikeru Utakata!"** Said bubble teen kept his eyes on the ashen blond, moistening his lips with his tongue in preparation for a difficult fight. **"And in this corner, it's the walking, talking airstrike with an attitude to match his Quirk: Katsuki Bakugo!"** The ashen blond was wearing an intense glare as he kept his eyes on his opponent, hands clenching with several unnoticeable pops emitting from his palms.

'I have to be smart about this,' internally contemplated Hajikeru. 'Bakugo has shown to be a natural at fighting with how fine tuned his instincts are. That means I can't rely on a set plan. In order to stay ahead of him, I'll have to be the one putting the pressure on him and regain it if I start losing ground. I'll have to pull out all the stops if I want to have a chance at beating him.'

The ashen blonde across from him was having different thoughts, mainly about the change in atmosphere around the normally lighthearted/annoying Bubble Quirk user.

'What the hell is with that look?' thought Katsuki. 'Bastard's probably sizing me up, just like that damn Round Face.'

 _Class 1-B Seating Area_

"Looks like its Utakata's turn to fight that monster," Juzo stated in a mildly concerned tone. "I wonder how this is gonna go. What do you think Vice Rep?"

"It's a real shame he's going to fail against a simple animal," Neito interjected, his ego in full swing. "If he can't beat Katsuki Bakugo, then he's even more pathetic than when he fought me."

"Lots of talk for someone who just laid there and got thrown out like yesterday's crap," Setsuna snarled in retaliation.

Denryoku, meanwhile, was silently observing his best friend while ignoring whatever it was his classmates were saying.

'That look in his eye and his posture, it's the same as when we parted to take the Entrance Exam,' he thought. 'If I had to guess, you're treating this as you're first real test of your Quirk's boundaries against a strong opponent. I guess that means you're going to pull out every move you have in your arsenal, aren't you, Haji?'

 _Tournament Arena_

 **"Let the third match of the second round… BEGIN!"**

Katsuki was the first to make a move on his opponent with a dual burst of his Quirk, rapidly approaching Hajikeru with a heated glare. The bubble teen shifted his positioning into his usual solid stance in preparation of his incoming opponent, his arms parallel to his shoulders. As soon as the explosive teen got within a few meters from him, Hajikeru immediately blew and fired off one of his Grapefruit-Type Pressure Bubbles to gain some distance from his opponent. As he was flying back, he dug his feet into the cement to slow his momentum and fired off a hastily made Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble as he turned around, quickly propelling him towards the explosive blond.

'Goddamn Pink Eye and his shitty bubbles,' thought Katsuki as he slid back from the sudden change in direction. He noticed his opponent coming at him at a high velocity after hearing a loud pop from across the arena, to his annoyance. He aggressively swung his right arm with an open palm to fire off an explosion in front of him to get Hajikeru off him.

At the same time, as the bubble teen approached his opponent, he blew another one of his Graperuit-Type Pressure Bubbles to counter Katsuki's explosions. The two attacks clashed, resulting in a pressure wave of heated air and smoke that reached the side boundary lines of the arena.

Not wanting to give his opponent the upper hand, the explosive blond lunged forward with a smoking right palm, intended to blast Hajikeru in his face. His attack was intercepted at the forearm by the bubble teen's own forearm, redirecting his explosion to the side. Katsuki went to follow up with a sparking strike with his left hand but was intercepted again when his palm exploded into his opponent's right hand, successfully blocking the attack at the expense of burning his palm.

Not wanting to waste an open opportunity, Hajikeru quickly gripped the explosive blond's left arm by the wrist and, with finesse worthy of praise from his old martial arts teacher, flipped him over his back and slammed him into the concrete floor. Katsuki could only grit his teeth in pain and anger over being slammed on the ground by a 'bubble blowing extra' and from experiencing some déjà vu from his second day of class.

'What the fuck?' the explosive teen thought in absolute lividness. 'Again? And by fucking Pink Eye of all these fucking extras?!' He caught a glimpse of the bubble teen's face as he recovered from the slam.

It didn't hold any sense of accomplishment or triumphant smirk. It simply remained in its focused state as when the match started.

When Hajikeru went to hold down his other arm using his foot, Katsuki fired off an explosion from his free hand, causing his opponent to jump back to avoid taking damage.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Holy crap," Eijiro muttered at the display. "Utakata actually did some damage to Bakugo. I didn't think he could pull it off."

"Utakata did mention that he trained in style martial arts since he was a child," Mezo mentioned to the spiky redhead. "And even though he said he hasn't gone to formal lessons for a few years now, it still seems like he retained a fair amount of his training."

"Kick his ass, Utakata!" Mina shouted from her seat.

"Ashido, watch your language," Momo scolded to the acid girl. The Acid Quirk user complied with a 'Yes ma'am!' and a mock salute.

"Hey, does anyone think Utakata is acting a bit… I don't know… off?" Minoru asked, speaking in a genuinely curious tone and not in a humorous or lecherous tone. Beside the light surprise from how genuine the grape teen sounded, some of Class 1-A did see some differences from how Hajikeru normally behaved.

"Now that you mentioned it, he does seem a lot more serious now than usual," Rikido stated as he watched the bubble teen counter another of Katsuki's explosions with another Pressure Bubble. "I guess he really wants to beat Bakugo, huh?"

"So?" countered Kyoka. "Utakata usually has that look when he's against an opponent. He had the same look during that combat exercise last week. That isn't anything new, guys."

"No, I agree with Satou," countered Tenya. "While Utakata does have some serious moments at times, it's never been like this. I am curious as to why he's taking this fight so seriously."

 _Tournament Arena_

For the past 30 seconds, it's been a complete stalemate between the two opponents. After Katsuki recovered from the combat throw, he sent a sparking right palm towards Hajikeru's legs in an effort to wear him down. The bubble teen managed to dodge the attack by detonating a Grapefruit-Type Pressure Bubble to propel him backwards, only lightly scorching his shoes in the process. Since then, they've been either countering or dodging their attacks with a palm explosion or a Pressure Bubble. Every set up the other tried to make to get the upper hand ends up being countered or their opponent outright ignores the set up and does something the other doesn't expect. When Katsuki goes over Hajikeru with his explosion serving as a smokescreen, said bubble teen knocks him away with a Pressure Bubble. When Hajikeru tried distracting Katsuki with several normal bubbles mixed in with his Pressure Bubbles, the explosive blond simply destroyed every bubble with a barrage of explosions while keeping his distance to minimize the effect of the air pressure wave.

It appeared to be an even match, but one was losing steam faster than the other and the other was losing patience.

'Crap…' thought Hajikeru as he felt the inside of his mouth with his tongue. 'I'm using too much of my saliva in a short time interval. My salivary glands can't replenish what I use up fast enough. But I need to rely on my Quirk if I want to keep up with Bakugo.' As he stared down his opponent from across the field, he noticed Katsuki appear more frazzled in appearance and his set glare was intense enough to set an entire forest ablaze. 'He's going to become more unpredictable now that he's losing his patience. If it comes to it, I'll have to use Pumpkin-Type to try and knock him out of the ring…'

His vision caught the explosive blond make a move with a short explosion to propel him forward and one of his palms was in an underhanded position, indicating he was going to launch an explosion in a skyward motion. He readied another Pressure Bubble to counter the explosion when he got closer.

He didn't expect Katsuki to launch the explosion way before he even got close to him. As a result, the explosive teen sent large chucks of debris towards the bubble teen's position and it forced Hajikeru to use his Pressure Bubble before he even got close. In urgency, he attempted to blow up another Pressure Bubble to escape the set, but the explosive teen was several meters in front of him and he had both his hands connected at the wrists with his smoking palms facing towards his opponent. There was a vicious grin on his face as he called out his attack.

"STUN GRENADE!"

A bright flash of light completely enveloped Hajikeru, forcing him to cover his eyes with one of his arms while his opposite hand went to his mouth out of reflex. It was shortly followed by a loud explosion and a cloud of ash covered most of the arena, to the audience's annoyance. As the smoke subsided, it was clear to see who won the clash.

"Gotcha, you damn bastard," snarled Katsuki to his opponent. He was hunched over Hajikeru with both of his legs holding down one of the bubble teen's arms by the wrist and one of his hands clamped over his mouth to prevent him from using his Quirk. His opposite hand "You're time between making those stupid bubbles was getting longer. It was pretty stupid of you to think I wouldn't notice. Now give up, Pink Eye!"

'He noticed that from just a few clashes?' thought Hajikeru in surprise. 'No, save it for later. Right now I need to counterattack.'

Hajikeru clenched the hand that contained one of his bubbles. When he was blinded from Katsuki's 'Stun Grenade' attack he quickly made a Pressure Bubble with a stronger shell, one of which he can hold it in his palm without having it detonate. Only with a strong force will it explode, like what had happened in that moment. The resulting explosion managed to lift up his held down hand, and by extension, Katsuki's foot. It was enough force to throw Katsuki off balance and for Hajikeru to throw a punch at his opponent's face to get him off. It wasn't an impactful attack, but it was enough to stagger the explosive blond and get him to release his mouth. The bubble teen then blew one of his Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubbles to send the explosive teen some distance away from him. He blew another one to propel himself after Katsuki's now downed form with the intention of throwing him out of the arena.

He didn't expect Katsuki to get up so quickly after being launched with his Pressure Bubble.

With smoking palms and a look that screamed livid, Katsuki began launching a powerful barrage of explosions with both hands forward and open. And this time, Hajikeru didn't have time to create a counter for the incoming firestorm.

The barrage lasted, at most, 5 seconds, but each explosion that hit was like being hit with a more powerful version of his Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble surrounded by hot ash and smoke. Hajikeru covered his face to avoid taking any damage to his head from the relentless concussive blasts, but that meant he had to sacrifice his arms and abdomen to take the brunt of the damage. He didn't know when the barrage will end or if he will be conscious when it does.

When the angry blond finally ceased his explosion barrage, he simply waited for the smoke to dissipate to see of his opponent was down for good.

Imagine his surprise when he saw Hajikeru still on his feet, both arms limply at his side, eyes half-lidded, but still staring into his opponent's soul. He was panting hard from the multiple burns on his body and a fair portion of his PE clothes were burned off, but he was still conscious. Katsuki wasn't happy to see his opponent was still not 'dead', even after taking an attack of that caliber.

'Damn it…' thought Hajikeru through gritted teeth. 'Everything hurts… Even when I move my arms just a little, they feel heavy and sensitive… This is it… I'm on my last legs… But if I'm going down… I'm going down swinging… It's the least I can do.'

Hajikeru took a deep breath, wincing heavily at the sharp pain at his midsection, and slowly began to blow a large bubble. At the same time, Katsuki blasted towards the bubble teen as he blew one of his bubbles, intending to defeat him for good this time. Once he closed the distance between them, he held out both of his smoking palms in front of his opponent's torso and unleashed a final blast with his signature phrase.

"DIIIIIIIEEEE!"

While it wasn't as terrifying or as powerful as the barrage he unleashed earlier, it certainly did the job of finishing his opponent off. The large bubble that was being blown by the bubble teen was detonated by the blond's explosion, sending him to the outer boundaries of the arena but never reaching beyond it. On the ground, covered in burns, PE uniform torn and charred in many places was Hajikeru, eyes rolled up and unconscious.

 **"Utakata is unconscious!"** announced Midnight after taking a look at the bubble teen's unresponsive form. **"Bakugo is the winner!"**

 **"And Bakugo takes the first casualty of the Tournament with his win over Utakata!"** Present Mic yelled.

'Utakata should have forfeited after receiving those kinds of injuries from Bakugo, but decided to go down swinging instead of give up,' scoffed Shota as he watched his student carted off the arena by the security bots. 'It's always the heroic ones that are always so persistent.'

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Oh man," Mina muttered at seeing Hajikeru's unconscious and battered form.

"He's okay… right?" Tooru asked in concern.

"If he were in any danger, I'm certain Recovery Girl will be able to heal him," Mezo said in a factual tone. "Besides, Present Mic did say to not hold anything back. That's what Bakugo did against Utakata."

"But putting harm on another student when he is on the verge of passing out is hardly good sportsmanship!" Tenya spoke up with his arms going into their signature chopping motion.

"Bakugo said he was going to beat the entirety of our first year class," Sherry said with a straight tone with hints of excitement buried underneath. "And it doesn't matter who's in his way. He doesn't see any of us as friends anyway, so this is all child's play for him."

"That brutality's gonna bite him in the ass one day," Mina said in an upset tone. She got berated by Momo for inappropriate language immediately after.

"I hope Utakata's alright," Ochako muttered, remembering the damage from her own match against the hot-headed blond. She didn't get a response, but several of their mutual friends silently held similar thoughts.

 _Class 1-B Seating Area_

"As I thought," Neito spoke, looking even smugger than when the match began. "More pathetic than I was lead to believe."

"You're really asking to be punched, aren't you Monoma?" Setsuna asked menacingly, her usual large, dark eyes becoming narrower and slit, almost reptilian. She was about to use her Quirk to give Neito a piece of her mind, but she was stopped by her friend.

"Take it easy, Tokage," Juzo tried calming his green haired friend. "Just ignore him. Utakata put up a great fight, but he just couldn't beat him. That's all there is to it."

The reptilian features around Setsuna's eyes returned to their normal human appearance, but it didn't stop her from being angry at the sardonic blonde. "Alright, fine. I'm just kinda ticked Utakata didn't win, okay?"

Denryoku wasn't paying attention to the ongoing conversation between his classmates, as he was occupied watching his unconscious best friend carted off the arena. Before the match began, he was quietly thinking of the odds Hajikeru had against Katsuki, as he had done with him through several of the matches before his. To his subtle frustration, almost every scenario ended in his best friend's defeat. In other words, he was just bracing himself for his analysis to come to fruition.

He wasn't disappointed in his best friend losing to Katsuki, but he did feel a bit of frustration with how Hajikeru lost his match. Instead of conceding defeat after taking so much damage, he kept going on with the match with what he assumed was supposed to be his last ditch attack. But it didn't work out the way he had hoped.

'That's just like you,' contemplated Denryoku. 'You still doubt yourself every now and then, but when it comes to your core ideals, you never stop until you either win or you're out of commission. You're already proving yourself as a real Hero, Haji.'

"I'm going," Denryoku said as he made his way away from his class's seating area.

"Don't be too despaired over that bubble blowing moron," called out Neito.

As the electro teen reached the top of the seating area, he turned to glare at the copy teen that so desperately wanted to get under his skin. To further emphasize his point, he allowed a bit of anger to seep through his emotionless face in the form of his electric-green eyes.

"Instead of trying to get under my skin, how about you focus on my upcoming match?" Denryoku spoke in a challenging tone before he left. "It'll give you a good idea on what I'm capable of doing with my Quirk."

It was made clear early on that Class 1-B's Vice President rarely showed emotions outside of his usual nonchalant expression, so it was a major surprise to hear his voice leave the flat tone they were so used to into one of legitimate anger.

"Okay, forget my vengeance," Setsuna said in a cheeky tone. "I'm after Vice Rep on the list of people that want Monoma dead!"

"Setsuna!" Ibara said in a surprised tone. "Do not wish such an ill fate upon our fellow man! It is not what the Lord wishes upon us, his subjects."

"Okay, how about beaten up?"

"Setsuna!"

While he didn't show it, Neito was lightly sweating over what the dark haired teen implied when he told him to watch his match.

 _Later_

 _Match 4: Tsuyu Asui vs. Denryoku Emera_

 **"Alright!"** Present Mic shouted. **"Time we wrapped up the Quarterfinals! In this corner, we got the girl that can turn a pond into paradise with just her presence alone: Tsuyu Asui!"** Said frog girl gave off a quiet ribbit in response. **"And in this corner, it's the electric executioner of Class 1-B: Denryoku Emera!"** The electro teen simply kept his hands in his pockets as he sized up his opponent.

 **"Now let the final match of the Quarterfinals… BEGIN!"**

Tsuyu was the first to make a move with a rapid shot of her tongue from across the field, to which Denryoku avoided with a pivot of his foot and a turn of his body. At the same time he grabbed the frog girl's tongue with his index finger and thumb, and passed an electrical charge through the muscle. Tsuyu retracted her tongue out of reflex from the electrical charge and realized she couldn't move it around the tip. Having her range advantage taken away, she decided to try and engage him up close. She leaped from her starting position to her opponent in a single jump and went to kick Denryoku with a straight kick.

'She's fast,' thought Denryoku as his Quirk came to life with the appearance of his electric-green eyes. He quickly sidestepped the kick and removed his other hand from his pockets. He was rubbing the studs on his fingers to generate enough electricity to fire off a pocket charge towards the frog girl. He was forced to dodge again when Tsuyu almost immediately recovered from the missed kick and threw a spin kick in his direction. 'And she has a good sense of combat too.'

The frog girl kept throwing kicks and punches at Denryoku, to which he kept dodging and blocking while rubbing the studs on his fingers against his thumbs on each of his hands. He didn't want to drag the fight on since he discovered Tsuyu's kicks were much stronger than he anticipated. The aching impacts on his left shin and forearm were evidence enough.

Feeling that he had generated enough of an electric charge in his fingers, Denryoku decided to put his plan into motion. When Tsuyu sent a kick to his midsection, he dodged the attack like before but this time, he tapped his studs at the side of her calf. As a result, she couldn't put weight on her left leg as it felt limp and unresponsive. Her face didn't show it, but she was surprised from the unexpected loss of feeling in her leg.

'He must have paralyzed my leg when he touched it with the studs on his fingers,' Tsuyu thought as she tried to get some feeling back in her calf. 'I only have one leg to work with, but I think I could do it.' With that, she got on her hands and launched herself towards her opponent legs first. As she got close, however, Denryoku sidestepped the hasty attack and tapped the frog girl on the other calf and upper arm with his electrified studs. When Tsuyu went to get up after stumbling onto her back, she found the only limb she was able to move was her left arm.

"Do you yield?" Denryoku asked as he towered over Tsuyu's crumpled form. As reluctant as she was, she had to admit defeat.

"Midnight sensei, I give up," the frog girl said to the referee.

 **"Asui is unable to continue!"** announced the R-Rated Hero. **"Emera moves on to the next round!"**

 **"And with that victory, we have our lineup for the Semifinals!"** yelled the Voice Hero. **"We'll be taking another 15 minute break for our contestants to freshen up for the most intense matches to come! See ya then!"**

 **AN: *Deep Breath* Wow, did I have trouble with this chapter. There were so many sections where I needed to rewrite and rethink how I wanted to approach things, but even then I felt like some things were a bit wonky. Anyway, no side story this time. I'll probably make one at the beginning of next chapter, since what I have planned for it is relevant to the chapter, at least somewhat. Whew... Okay, I think I'm done for this Author's Note. Also, I'm planning to fix some of the earlier chapters and possibly the more recent ones over the next few days, so the next chapter may be a bit delayed. I do have to sift through... what is it now? 70,000+ words through 10 chapters... Yeah that's gonna take some time. Hasta la Vista, Baby!**

 **Oh, and to all those that Followed/Favorited/Reviewed this story since I started this fanfic: Thanks for sticking around for this long! Hopefully I'll be able to catch up to the anime by year's end, but then again I don't want to rush anything, so no promises there. Okay, now it's Hasta la Vista, Baby!**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 9/13/19**

 **So, several things here. First off, I made some additional dialogue for Class 1-A post-Hajikeru match up. Second off, I made some changes in some of the interactions between the students. I thought the previous ones didn't really have anything to say, so these one's actually have some impact between the characters. Third off, I completely removed the interactions between Hajikeru, Mina, and Tooru, which shortened the scene in the prep room to about half of what it originally was. Reading it again felt like filler when I could just get on to the main event after the conversation between Haji and his maternal figures. Funnily enough, at the time of writing this AN, I'll be writing a filler chapter going over the summer events before the Training Camp Arc. So, yeah. That's enough from me.)**


	12. The UA SF: The Tournament The Semifinals

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _Recovery Girl's Office_

"There," spoke the Youthful Heroine as she retracted her lips from Izuku's bedridden form. "I've healed you enough to be able to walk."

"Thank you," panted out Izuku, clearly tired from the elderly woman's Quirk. His eyes then settled on the crooked and scarred form of his right hand.

"As for your right hand, there was only so much I could do for it. Let that serve as a reminder for overusing your Quirk and how important it is to know how to control it. If this sort of injury were to occur again, you won't receive any treatment from me. I will not condone this sort of behavior from either of you."

The doors to the temporary nurse's office opened with a thud as the security bots carried in a large boy with frazzled dark blue hair and notable pink eyes. He was covered in burns and his attire looked worse for wear.

"Stupid Bakugo," hissed out Hajikeru in a dry sounding voice, a comically crossed look prominent on his face. "Did he have to use his Quirk to knock me out like that?!"

"Utakata?!" Izuku questioned in surprise. "What happened to you?!"

"Oh, hey Midoriya. I just got my ass handed to me on a dynamite riddled platter by that angry son of a… *SMACK* OW, OW, OW, OW, OW…"

"Watch your language, young man!" Recovery Girl angrily scolded after smacking the bubble teen on the head with her cane.

"Sorry, Recovery Girl," lowly muttered out Hajikeru in a waterfall of tears. Add a bulging bump on the noggin to the list of injuries along with the numerous burns all over his body and the sharp ache on his sternum.

The Youthful Heroine then proceeded to heal the bubble teen with a granny kiss from her extended lips. A green glow surrounded him for a brief moment before subsiding, taking the burns on his body along with it. No longer feeling the pain from his injuries, Hajikeru shuffled his way off the stretcher and shakily stood up while using the other available bed as a crutch.

"Wow," the bubble teen quietly spoke in exhaustion and a bit of amazement. "So that's what that feels like. I have no idea how you manage this with all the injuries you get, Midoriya."

As he addressed his green haired friend, he noticed a familiar figure standing next to Izuku. He was very lanky and boney looking with frazzled blond hair and sunken, blue eyes. He was also present when he and his friends went to see how Izuku was doing after his match with Shoto.

"Oh… Hey again... um… sir…"

A slightly panicked look came across the boney faced man before he responded.

"Uh… Yes," he replied in an absurdly high voice. Izuku and Recovery Girl snorted in an effort to hold in their laughter, to Hajikeru's confusion. "Good to see you again, young man."

'Who the heck is this guy?' internally questioned the bubble teen as he squinted his eyes at the sickly looking man, drawing many nervous looks from both Izuku and the man in question. He'd never seen this person around the U.A. grounds even once since starting school, yet he had seen him twice this same day. One top of that, the two times he had seen the man in question was around Izuku while he was in the infirmary. So, that would mean he had a relation with his green haired friend. It was farfetched, but it made some sense.

"Hey, Midoriya," called out Hajikeru. "I don't mean to be rude, but who is this?"

He noticed Izuku's eyes widen slightly, as if he was caught by surprise. This confused Hajikeru, but he was cut off before his thoughts can process that odd physical tick.

"He's an old family friend, Utakata," Izuku quickly explained. "My mom couldn't come to see me at the Sports Festival today, so he volunteered to watch me in her place." By the time the bushy-haired teen finished his hasty explanation, he was feeling flustered and sweaty over how nerve-wracking it was to hide his mentor's secret. But his explanation seemed to have done the job.

"Oh, well, nice to meet you, sir." It was then Hajikeru felt a sharp pain on his sternum as he went to take a deep breath.

"Since the burns on your body were more concerning, I healed them first," Recovery Girl said as she explained his situation. "I was planning on healing that injury as well, but I was worried you didn't have enough stamina. Turned out my assumption was right from how you're putting your weight onto that bed, sonny. I recommend taking it easy for now. Nothing strenuous, you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," groaned out Hajikeru as he shortened his breath to avoid having his lungs press against his ribcage too much.

"Also, change out of those rags. There's a change of PE clothes in those drawers over there."

The bubble teen complied and got changed behind one of the curtains available. As he finished up changing out of his tattered clothes into some new ones, he took a moment to see the damage that was done not only in his fight with Katsuki, but throughout the entirety of the Sports Festival. He noted the two gaping holes that he managed to hide, or at least draw attention away from, by having his PE shirt open throughout the Cavalry Battle and Tournament, and the numerous singes around the entire front.

His first Sports Festival at U.A. His first chance to show the world how his initially useless Quirk is one worthy of a hero. His first fight with a superior opponent.

This showing proved he was on the right path, but it showed how far he still had to go.

He decided to keep the shirt as a reminder of that crushing defeat. He folded it until it fit inside his front pocket before coming out from behind the curtain.

"You ready to go, Midoriya?" asked the bubble teen as he saw his meek friend shakily get off the hospital bed.

"Um… Actually, Utakata," stuttered out Izuku. "I was actually planning on stay here for a little bit longer. I'm still a little tired from the surgery."

"Right, right," lowly said Hajikeru, somewhat sobering to the idea of his friend having to go through surgery. "Alright, I'll see you on the stands."

 _Later_

Hajikeru stopped by the prep room he was previously in before his match against Katsuki before he headed back to his classmates. He had to rehydrate his mouth with a few bottles of water and to pick up his phone, which was vibrating nonstop with messages from his mother. They appeared to be hastily made with how ineligible many of the texts were, but he couldn't blame her for worrying. He did look like crap from that barrage of explosions and he did pass out in his defeat, afterall. The blunette called his mother to assure that he was fine and while it succeeded in calming her down, he knew there was more to come.

'Man,' internally groaned the bubble teen with a wry grin. 'Mom's gonna chew me out when we get home.'

"There you are, Utakata!"

The pink eyed teen was snapped out of his thoughts by the spiky redhead, along with several of his classmates and the hotheaded blond that swept the floor with him.

"Oh, hey guys," casually replied the bubble teen with a wide grin.

"Don't 'hey guys' us, Utakata!" Mina shouted from her seat. "You had us worried when you didn't get back up from that stupid hothead's explosions!" Tooru was, from what he could assume by the movement of her clothes, nodding furiously beside her. Mezo remained quiet one row behind them, though a subtle look of relief could be seen in his eyes.

"That finishing move was completely uncalled for in a competition of good sportsmanship," Tenya yelled from his seat, his arms moving frantically as he spoke. "Such brutal action does not fit the morals of a Hero, Bakugo!"

"Who fucking cares, Glasses!?" Katsuki shouted from his seat. "As long as I win, I don't give a damn about who I leave on the ground!"

"Guys, relax!" spoke Hajikeru as he tried to calm his classmates and friends. "I'm fine, aren't I? Bakugo didn't do that much damage in his finishing move! It was enough to knock me out, yeah, but I came to when I was being carried in the tunnels by the helper bots. I mean, I was in pain, but I was still conscious. That's all that matters, right?" He was met with several stares that appeared judgmental with a feeling around them that practically asked him 'Are you serious?'.

While some of his classmates questioned the nature of his statement, those that he was closer to him noticed something crucial about him that wasn't present during his match.

His previously absent gleeful demeanor had returned and he wasn't as serious as before. Though, to those that know him well enough, there was still the question as to why he was so during his match. Images of the Bubble Quirk user with an uncharacteristically serious face firing off his Pressure Bubbles against the Katsuki's explosions came to mind. And after that painful loss, they half expected him to be at least dejected at the outcome.

Still, it was good to see he was back to normal.

"Good to see you up and about, Haji," spoke a familiar voice from behind the bubble teen. Hajikeru, as well as the entirety of the present Class 1-A students, turned to see Denryoku at the top of the stairs of the seating area along with Tsuyu.

"Tsu!" Ochako exclaimed as she called to the frog girl "Are you okay? Did Recovery Girl heal you? I saw you hit your head during your fight. And what about your legs?"

"Well, I only went to see her to have her heal a cut on my head, *ribbit*," plainly stated the frog girl as she pointed to the bandage on her forehead.

"And if you're talking about the paralyzing effects of my Quirk, they only last a few minutes," also plainly stated Denryoku, his face devoid of emotion with half lidded eyes. "I did hold a bit of responsibility for her injury in the first place, so I helped make her way to Recovery Girl's office until she regained control of her legs again."

"I bet you feel really noble about that, huh?" asked Hanta with a bit of venom.

Denki shot a look of confusion towards the tape teen when he heard his tone of voice towards his fellow electric Quirk user.

"First my partner in crime, now Asui?!" screeched Minoru as he stood on the back of his seat. "You're unforgiveable, you stone faced jerk!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Denki cut in as he raised himself up. "What the hell did I miss?! Why are you guys so hostile towards Emera?"

"He kicked the crap out of you and Asui, Kaminari!" Rikido said as he looked at the electric blond in confusion. "I thought you would be angry about what he did."

The electric teen looked at Denryoku in confusion. "Didn't you tell them what you told me?"

"I had no reason to tell them what isn't their business, Kaminari," the electro teen replied. "You're free to tell them, though. So knock yourself out." He turned to Hajikeru to address him. "Haji, follow me. I need to talk to you for a minute."

The bubble teen simply nodded in affirmation before following his best friend away from his class seating area. They got outside of earshot of the Class 1-A students after a moment of walking.

"So?" asked Denryoku as he prompted his best friend to take a spot next to him against the wall. "What do you think?"

"About what?" replied Hajikeru as he stood next to the electro teen.

"About your first trial against a strong opponent. Knowing you, this would have been an opportunity for you to measure yourself up against someone with a superior sense of their Quirk and combat ability."

"What do you want me to say, Denryo?" The bubble teen's brows were furrowed in what Denryoku could assume was frustration. "I can't say I'm satisfied with what I did down there. I only used Pressure Bubbles during my match and nothing else. In my judgment, they were the only technique I could effectively use against Bakugo and it was that. I couldn't use Reinforced Bubbles against him because he would pop it with one of his explosions and my Bubble En Masse. Not to mention both options would have left me with fewer opportunities to counterattack since I needed that saliva for my Pressure Bubbles."

Denryoku simply kept quiet as he listened to his best friend give his self analysis. It was a while since they both had done a self reflection on their performance, the last time being a week before the Entrance Exam. It was a great way for both of them to identify their shortcomings and strengths, though Denryoku was better at it than his bubble blowing friend.

"I had the means of creating set ups increase my chances of winning, or even winning ones, but as I am right now… I can't be super effective with my Quirk without sacrificing efficiency in the process."

The features on Denryoku's face soften, albeit only slightly if you squinted hard enough.

"But do you think you accomplished what you sought out to do?" he asked.

There was a quiet moment between them as Hajikeru gathered his thoughts. He thought about the fight he had with the blond. He did manage to hold back Katsuki for a short time, and he did succeed in doing some damage to him. And before he took the barrage of explosions, he did manage to get the explosive blond off of him. But did that mean he did a good job of showing what he and his Quirk can do?

The pink eyed teen sighed before he said, "I think… I didn't do the best I could. But I did prove that my Quirk can be used for Hero work. I mean, there's still the stupid saliva thing I need to overcome."

"I guess that's just another thing we'll have to work on when we get home, huh?" simply stated Denryoku. Hajikeru simply let out a puff of air in annoyance, but acknowledged his friend's suggestion.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," the bubble teen said in slight exasperation, gaining his roommate's attention. "Work a mountain to make my Quirk passable for a Hero school, only to find out I still need to work on it some more. Oh well… If it's another few obstacles before and after we become Pro Heroes, then I'll tough it out and improve myself. This loss means I'm on the right path."

Denryoku subtly smirked as he muttered, "Good to hear."

After their little discussion, the duo decided to head back to the seating area to either wait out their next match or to watch the remaining matches from the stands.

Unknown to both of them, a certain purple haired teen was listening from around the corner. He thought about what the duo said during their conversation and then thought about his own past experiences. He contemplated his thoughts before heading back to his class seating area.

 _Semifinals- Match 1: Shoto Todoroki vs. Sherry Teikiatsu_

 **"WELCOME TO THE SEMIFINALS OF U.A.'S FIRST YEARS TOURNAMENT, SPORTS FANS!"** announced Present Mic. **"Let's cut the chatter to a minimum and see who will qualify for the Final match! In this corner, it's the guy with the icy reception to match his incredible Ice Quirk and the fiery drive to match his Flame Quirk: it's Class 1-A's Shoto Todoroki!"** The half white, half redheaded teen held a steady stare towards his sandy blonde opponent. **"And in this corner, it's the Whirlwind Mistress from the same class: Sherry Teikiatsu!"** The sandy blonde was finishing up her stretches as she returned the gaze sent to her with one of her own.

'Rematch time, baby,' Sherry internally said. 'I bet Todoroki is scheming many different ways to immobilize me like in the Team Exercise. One advantage I definitely have over his ice is my Tornado Crush and my superior mobility. Then again, if he's using his fire now, then my mobility advantage could be questionable and he can use his ice without worrying about his little frost problem. But unlike with Tokoyami, I can wear him down with my attacks. This is gonna be fun.' The sandy blonde had a noticeable grin of excitement on her face.

'Teikiatsu has shown herself to be a difficult opponent to face in a one-on-one match,' Shoto thought. 'She has plenty of powerful ranged attacks and she has demonstrated a new move I haven't seen before against Tokoyami. That could be dangerous against my ice. I will have to immobilize her as soon as possible.'

 **"Let the first Match of the Semifinals… BEGIN!"**

As he had done with the match with Juzo, Shoto sent out a small iceberg's amount of ice towards the sandy blonde in an attempt to incapacitate her.

Seeing the massive amount of ice headed her way, Sherry quickly charged up her legs with a Category 3 powered Gale Storm and quickly shot above the developing ice formation before it had a chance to engulf her person. As she was suspended in the air she quickly fired off another Gale Storm to right her landing to avoid landing on the jagged ice formations. She extended one of her arms towards her heterochromic opponent and fired off a Gust Shot, to which her opponent blocked with his ice.

Shoto sent another wave of ice towards Sherry in an attempt to hold her in place, which was once again avoided via side step by the sandy blonde with a Category 2 Gale Storm. This time, however, the half-white, half-red head ran atop the ice formation he just created until he reached the end and swung his right arm towards the airborne blonde after jumping up from the end of the ice formation with his Quirk. In tandem with the swing, several spires of ice shot up in Sherry's direction in pursuit of the blonde.

From the look of surprise in her face, it was safe to say Sherry was completely caught off guard by the maneuver. The formation Shoto jumped off of was much smaller when compared to his opening move, so there wasn't any way she could have seen what he was planning. She tried to avoid having the ice encase any of her limbs with a concentration blast of her Quirk, but she unfortunately was too late in doing so. Her left foot was caught by the ever proceeding ice and it was beginning to surround her entire leg. She fired up a Category 3 Tornado Crush to stop the ice from traveling any further up by hitting the region below her foot, leading to a rough tumble onto the cement. While free of capture, she was now with a handicap in the form of an ice block surrounding her leg.

'Okay, not good,' thought Sherry in concern when she looked at her frozen leg. 'I could probably break this stuff with my Tornado Crush, but I would risk breaking my leg if I put too much force on it. Crap…'

She spied her opponent from some ways away from her covered in many bits of frost and shaking ever so slightly from his Quirk's usage. The dual Quirk user's two opening moves where big enough to cover most of the entire arena and like he had demonstrated with his fight with Juzo and Izuku, overuse of his Ice Quirk can greatly reduce its effectiveness and his physical ability. He hadn't reached the level of frost like with his previous two fights, but it was getting there with how much it was covering his body.

Which brings up the question: Why isn't he using his Flame Quirk to remove the frost from his body if he used it in his fight against Izuku?

The sandy blonde was forced out of her thoughts when her opponent sent another wave of ice on her downed person, except, true to her observation, the ice came at her at a slower pace. That being said, it still came at her at a fast enough pace to cover her left fist and forearm when she used her Quirk to avoid being completely incapacitated. Except now, her left arm and leg was trapped in the ice formation and it was slowly creeping up to completely cover her body. Figuring it was due to how much Shoto used his Ice Quirk against her, Sherry quickly decided to take advantage of the drawback by charging up her right fist with her Quirk.

'This'll hurt like a bitch, but I need to take advantage of this,' Sherry thought as the swirling wind around her fist began to whistle from the high rotational speed. Several cuts were forming on her fingers, but she bit through the pain as she unleashed her attack on the ice formation towards her heterochromic opponent.

"Tornado Crush: CATEGORY 5!"

Once Sherry's fist made contact with the ice formation, a large portion of it cracked and splintered heavily before being sent in Shoto's direction in a storm of large hail stones. Quickly shaking off his shock, Shoto created an ice wall to protect himself from the ice chunks but caught a few on his head when it didn't form quickly enough. With the opposing party, she checked over her freed leg and mostly freed arm, the lower part of her forearm and fist still frozen over. Bits of her PE uniform were torn from where the ice froze over, though thankfully it wasn't anything like her fight with Tenya. The two concerns she had, however, were the prickly feeling in her previously frozen limbs, which also felt a bit numb, and her bleeding fingers on her right hand. She shelved it for until after the match.

She sent a look towards her opponent and found him wiping away some blood on his forehead. His body was covered in even more frost than before.

'Why isn't he using his fire side to get rid of his frosty problem?' Sherry thought, looking a bit confused at her opponent. 'It would make his life easier and I won't stand a chance against him if he did it. But why isn't he using it now? Does he think he can win without it?'

"What are you waiting for?" called out the sandy blonde to her opponent, receiving a look of confusion from Shoto as a response. "Use your fire to get rid of your frosty problem!"

For a brief moment, Sherry thought she saw some conflict in his expression before he sent another wave of ice in her direction at a noticeably slower pace. She simply hopped over the attack using her Quirk, an angered expression clear on her face. In retaliation, she sent a powerful Gust Shot in his direction to which Shoto blocked with an ice formation. Said makeshift barrier groaned under the impact of the concentrated burst of wind.

"You're gonna run out of steam faster than I will, Todoroki!" shouted Sherry as she sent another Gust Shot in Shoto's direction. "I can do this for as long as I want! You're gonna be an ice sculpture before I collapse of exhaustion!"

She simply received a chilly glare in response as more ice was thrown her direction and like before, she dodged the attack with a quick burst of her Quirk. The sandy blonde shot herself in her opponent's direction while doing her best to stay airborne to keep her chances of getting caught by the ice low. As she was doing that, the blonde was firing off powerful Gust Shots with her free arm all the while at the heterochromic teen.

Meanwhile, Shoto was busy sending out wave after wave of ice at his opponent in many attempts to incapacitate his opponent. But with each attack he sends out, it was becoming clear that he was growing desperate to win the match. Every wave of ice was avoided and every spire he put out as an obstacle was destroyed by the buxom blonde. He was losing ground fast and he was handicapping himself in the many attempts to win his match.

After some shaky-at-best air hopping, and dodging several ice spires that managed to get in her way, Sherry managed to get within her Quirk's effective range. She had noticed the attacks gradually slow down and her opponent's right side was nearly completely covered in frost. It was her chance to end the match. But then there was the poor judgment on her opponent's part that she couldn't stand.

So she gave him one more chance to give himself a fighting chance.

"Last chance, Todoroki!" Sherry shouted towards Shoto as wind began swirling around her entire right arm. "You give me everything you have and use your flames, or just stand there like an ice sculpture since you think you can win without it!" The air around her arm began to gain rotational speed as she held it straight out in front of her.

For a brief second, Sherry could have sworn to have seen a bit of fire emit from the left side of Shoto's body. It almost got her excited to see that her opponent was finally going to use his full power against her. But as soon as it appeared, it dissipated without a trace, to the sandy blonde's surprise and chagrin. Sherry's face can only appear disappointed at her opponent's decision, completely ignoring the look of defeat on his face.

'So be it…'

"Typhoon Cannon… Category 4!"

The wind that was swirling around her arm was fired at the heterochromic teen and the ice barrier that was protecting him. The formation groaned and cracked until the attack finally done it in and sent it and Shoto out of the arena.

 **"Todoroki is out of bounds!"** Midnight announced. **"Teikiatsu moves on to the Finals!"**

 **"And in a crazy awesome finishing move, we have our first qualifier for the Final Round!"** Present Mic said as he stood in the desk holding all the commentating equipment.

 **"Mic, get down from there before you break any of our equipment,"** the Erasure Hero spoke in irritation.

Back on the field, Shoto could be seen defrosting his body with his Flame Quirk, still reeling from the conflict of using his Flame Quirk within himself as he climbed the stairs back into the arena. When he flared up for that brief second, so many memories came crashing back to him, from the harsh training he had to endure with his father and the isolation from his three older siblings, to the fear and distress he had seen his mother go through when he was just a child. He thought he had found the will to use his Flames during his fight with Izuku, but the previously buried memories hit him at the wrong time and he was overwhelmed before he could even use it to regulate his body temperature. The entire day was a mess.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something solid banging against concrete. He looked up to see Sherry banging her still frozen arm against the concrete in a feeble effort to get rid of the ice, just barely hearing her whisper profanities. He made his way over to her seated form and crouched with his left hand forward.

"Here," muttered Shoto. He received a questioning glare from the sandy blonde as a response, but held out her frozen arm for him to defrost it anyway. The process was a bit slow, but he needed to be careful with his temperature control since his mind was still a bit chaotic.

Once done, the sandy blonde stood up and left him without sparing a glance towards her beaten opponent. When the half-white, half red-head went to follow her, he was stopped by Midnight, who simply pointed at the large ice formations still on the field. With a subdued nod, Shoto got to the task of melting the ice formations.

Meanwhile, Sherry was limping her way through the tunnel that connected the arena to the stands, holding her right arm in pain. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she could feel the stinging cuts on her arm, and especially her knuckles, drip with her blood. In retrospect, she didn't really need to go that far, but she did what she felt was necessary to win. It was a view that her opponent didn't seem to share. He could have had her on the ropes the entire time had he used both his Quirks in tandem, but he chose to use only his Ice Quirk, purposely handicapping himself and practically giving her the match.

And she didn't like it.

'If he can't use his Quirks to the best of his ability, he isn't worth my time,' the buxom blonde thought coldly while nursing her wounds, setting her destination to Recovery Girl's Office.

 _Class 1-A Stands_

"Holy crap," muttered out Kyoka. "That was crazy." Most of her replies came in the form of dumbfounded nods while some of her classmates were more verbal with their responses.

"Todoroki, you fool!" Minoru shouted in frustration. "You could have burned off Teikiatsu's clothes and giving yourself a peak of the goods!" The little grape teen was met with a slap to the cheek by Tsuyu's tongue.

"No one would do that except you, Mineta," Hajikeru said before taking a sip from his iced tea from a straw.

"Man, I didn't think Todoroki would be beaten like that," Denki said.

"If Todoroki used his flames to balance his internal temperature, he would have won," Izuku sadly said as he watched Shoto melt his ice in a subdued manner. He had arrived right before the match started with casts on his right arm and his left leg with bandages scattered about his person, to his friend's concern.

"But he didn't," growled out Katsuki, drawing attention to himself before he got up from the stands. "Stupid asshole doesn't deserve to be here if he's going to half-ass it like that."

"He has as much reason to be here as you do, Bakugo," Mezo fired back at the explosive teen. "We all do."

"Icy-Hot ain't got shit on me if he doesn't use both of his damn Quirks, Sushi Platter." With that final retort, Katsuki left for his next match.

'Sushi Platter?' Mezo thought in confusion at the explosive teen's nickname for him.

"As much as I hate to admit it," started Hajikeru, drawing his classmate's attention. "He does have a point."

"You agree with that jerk, Utakata?" Tooru asked in clear confusion. The bubble teen nodded before giving his reasoning.

"The Sports Festival is meant to be an opportunity to show the world what we can do and get the Pro's to notice us. If we don't give it everything we got, then it would be considered an insult to everyone that's giving it their 100%. Well, according to Bakugo's way of thinking, anyway. To some, a win's a win, so they don't really care if their opponent is holding back."

Out of nowhere, Tenya began to vibrate violently, startling everyone in the immediate vicinity.

"Do not fret," Tenya said in a calm manner as he reached into his back pocket. "It's just my phone."

"That's a relief," simultaneously sighed out Izuku and Ochako.

"What kind of phone vibrates that much?!" Hajikeru, Denki, and Mina shouted in confusion.

Seeing his mother's image in the caller ID, Tenya excused himself to the halls leading away from his class' seating area.

"Oh right," remembered Izuku as he faced Hajikeru. "Emera's match is next, right, Utakata?"

"Yup," simply replied the bubble teen as he faced his meek friend with a grin present. "That oughta be a action packed match."

"From what Emera has display so far, I would assume he still has more to show," Mezo spoke using one of his extra arms to speak.

"But Kacchan isn't going to make it easy for him," Izuku said, drawing Ochako's and Hajikeru's attention. "He's probably going to keep his distance from Emera after what he did in his and Asui's match."

"I told you to call me Tsu," Tsuyu popped from behind the two friends, startling the meek teen and amusing the gravity girl.

"Yeah…" simply replied the bubble teen as he began to internally contemplate. 'He might be at a disadvantage there. His Pocket Charges would probably be the best bet here since he can't use Discharge without overloading his reserves and Green Bolt would burn through his reserves too quickly. He could try to do that thing he did last week to get in close, but that would be too risky. He's only started experimenting with it, so it wouldn't make any sense for him to use it.'

If only the poor boy knew how wrong he was.

 _Later_

 _Match 2: Katsuki Bakugo vs. Denryoku Emera_

 **"IT'S THE FINAL QUALIFIER MATCH BEFORE THE FINALS, SPORTS FANS! LEMME HEAR YOUR HYPE!"** Present Mic screamed, to Shota's annoyance. **"It's time for a Class 1-A, Class 1-B rivalry match! In this corner, leaving a pile of scorched opponents in his wake, it's Class 1-A's resident bombing run: Katsuki Bakugo!"** Said explosive teen was cracking his knuckles with a vicious grin present on his face. **"And in this corner, it's Class 1-B's electrifying Vice President: Denryoku Emera!"** The electro teen simply sent subtle glare towards his opponent, hands still in his pocket.

 **"LAST MATCH BEFORE THE FINALS! AND BEGIN!"**

As soon as the Voice Hero gave the go, Katsuki rocketed towards his opponent with a series of explosions. At the same time, Denryoku fired off several Pocket Charges from a few flicks of his fingers. The explosive teen fired another explosion from his palms to avoid the Pocket Charges. He went to focus his sight on his opponent, only to find him gone.

It was then Katsuki felt his left arm go numb, then limp after feeling a stinging sensation on his shoulder, elbow, and wrist. To his left was his opponent, eyes green and several of his fingers sparking with electricity while covered in a light layer of ash. Denryoku went to strike Katsuki's left leg, but was forced to dodge back by an explosion from his opponent's opposite hand.

'What the hell?' snarled a frustrated Katsuki. 'How did this bastard get close without me noticing?'

He didn't have time to deduce his opponent's trick, as Denryoku instantly closed the distance between them in a single dash and went for the explosive teen's still working arm, studs sparking with green electricity.

In an unexpected move, Katsuki threw his knee upward and deflected the sparking hand. He followed that up with a vicious explosion from his right hand. His opponent noticed the attack coming and simultaneously shifted his body and jumped back enough to lessen the damage. It was enough to lessen the blow, but not enough to escape unscathed.

'That's some instinct he's got,' Denryoku thought as he patted at the light burn mark on his shirt. 'Even with an arm down, he still knows how to counterattack with what he has.' He observed his opponent inspecting his limp arm, and then looked up to glare at the electro teen in anger. 'If I can paralyze one of his legs, that should be enough to throw him off balance and for me to get the rest of his limbs.'

The green eyed teen ran at his ashen blond opponent at a much slower rate while green electricity began sparking from both of his hands. He fired off four Pocket Charges at once at his opponent with one hand while he frantically rubbed the studs on his other finger. He had plenty of electricity stored for this fight, but he needed to keep a substantial amount in order to utilize his Quirk. A single Pocket Charge required around a minute of charging and he was able to stockpile enough electricity for 40 of them. The charging time depended on how fast he rubs his studs.

As a response, Katsuki roared as he unleashed a larger than normal explosion at his opponent, destroying the Pocket Charges and forcing Denryoku to backpedal to reduce the knockback. The dark haired teen fired off more of his electrified projectiles, but he was countered by another large explosion by his opponent.

'He's keeping his distance from me after that first stunt,' the electro teen thought in irritation. 'Bakugo's Quirk is good for keeping someone at a distance and he knows he's screwed if I land another hit. I'll have to try that move again when he fires off another explosion. I can use the ash as cover, but he would be expecting that from the opening move.' He thought about his next move as he continued to fire off Pocket Charges at Katsuki. His eyes slightly brightened at an idea. 'That could probably work.'

Katsuki roared as he let loose a much larger explosion when he spotted more of the annoying, bright green projectiles. The explosive blond was nearing the end of his rope when it came to this match. Not only did this opponent manage to get a hit on him, but it also left him without another arm to dish out his Quirk. He hated playing defense. He preferred to hunt down and attack opponents with a torrent of explosions and move on. He hadn't been able to do that in this tournament at all and it's really starting to grind on his nerves.

Once the explosive force ceased, Denryoku tapped the front and back of his left calf, doing the same move he did at the beginning of the match. He appeared from the ash cloud and was within a few meters of his opponent and he was prepared to paralyze Katsuki's other arm.

Unfortunately, he took an explosion to the face, causing him to stumble and miss his target. It wasn't a strong attack, but it was enough to get him to close his eyes as a reaction. That's not even mentioning the tunnel vision he suffered from using his Quirk on his leg.

Katsuki could be seen looking smug at catching him at the right moment.

Denryoku winced in pain when he put weight on the leg that he tapped with his Quirk. After he took the attack from his explosive opponent, he noticed he couldn't bend his leg at the knee when he crashed into the concrete. Though instead of worried, he looked rather amused at seeing his leg unresponsive.

'Hm…' thought Denryoku as he observed his heavily tensed up leg. 'So there must be a margin of error in which I must meet when using Super Charge more than once. Further experimentation is needed for this move. I think I'll call it Super Charge.'

"Where're you looking, you bastard!" shouted Katsuki as he dashed at his opponent. His right palm was sparking as he was running towards the handicapped 1-B student, his left arm still limp at his side. "You and your shitty class are done here!"

"You're right," Denryoku muttered before addressing Midnight. "Proctor, I forfeit."

This statement caused Katsuki to stop in place at hearing his opponent give up. If it was possible, the bulging vein on his forehead seemed to grow to scary size.

 **"Uh, Emera concedes defeat!"** Midnight announced. **"Bakugo is the winner!"**

 **"AND WE HAVE THE CARPET BOMBING MANIAC FROM CLASS 1-A PARTICIPATING IN THE FINAL ROUND, SPORTS FANS!"** shouted the Voice Hero. **"BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT THROUGH ANOTHER SHORT BREAK BEFORE WE SEE WHO WILL TAKE THE GOLD HOME, SO DON'T TOUCH THAT CLICKER. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"**

The explosive blond was ready to explode, figuratively, and he needed to blow something up, literally. Unfortunately, the R-Rated Hero had shooed him off the arena while his opponent was carried away by helper robots on a stretcher.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

Hajikeru was ticked off. Not because his best friend lost to the same opponent he did, far from it. What he couldn't believe was the fact that Denryoku used an experimental technique against a difficult opponent. He was experimenting with his Quirk when he discovered he can move his limbs at high speeds if an electrical charge was 'injected' into the muscle group. Unfortunately, he only used it twice before and they were both successes. He only discovered the drawbacks during the Sports Festival, as the end of the match shows.

He let out a loud groan as he slapped his large hand onto his spherical face, drawing some of his classmates' attention.

"Um… Utakata?" Ochako said to her bubble blowing friend. "You doing okay there?"

"If you don't count how ticked I am at Denryo for using his Quirk in that way, I'm just peachy, Uraraka," angrily mumbled Hajikeru.

"What the heck was that about, anyway?" Denki asked in confusion. "He did a thing at the beginning and he was fine. Why did his leg tense up the second time?"

"Because he's an idiot for thinking he can use it again and again without risk. He barely even knows how to use it!"

"So he was just desperate then?" Kyoka bluntly said.

She received a 'Maybe!' from the bubble teen as a response.

"So, it's Teikiatsu and Bakugo in the Finals, huh?" Tooru spoke with a bit of tangled nerves.

"Yup," Eijiro said with a wide, toothy grin. "This fight's gonna be super manly! A battle between the toughest Class 1-A has to offer!"

"Oh sure! A battle between a blonde bimbo and a blonde degenerate! That sounds like the match of the century!"

A noticeable head of well-kept blond hair and very-punchable face peeked itself over the concrete divider to once again mock Class 1-A.

"Don't think for a second that our Vice President would fall so easily against you clowns. It was simply a fluke that he lost out to a pathetic, unruly, unmannered—"

*SMACK*

Like before, the sardonic blond fell unconscious from yet another impact to the head/neck. Though this time, the assassin was a green haired girl with large, dark eyes instead of Itsuka.

"How was that, Itsuka?" Setsuna asked her oranged haired friend in anticipation.

"I-I think you knocked him out cold, Setsuna," stuttered Itsuka as she checked on the downed blond.

"So, too much force, then?"

"A little too much, yes."

"Good! That guy was driving me nuts during Vice Reps fight!"

 **AN: Okay first off... I sort of goofed up. I didn't make the changes to the earlier chapters simply because I forgot to. And speaking of forgetting shit... I forgot about writing this fanfic the past week, so it was just sitting here in my hard-drive not having words written in it. Also, I've been feeling a little down recently, so I spent that time with family, especially my niece (super adorbs), nephew (less adorbs), and sisters (calling them adorbs would just be weird). Okay sort-of rant over.**

 **Now to address what I have going on in this chapter:**

 **-Hitoshi happened to stumble on what Hajikeru and Denryoku were talking about, which should lead to a confrontation later on, thus warranting Mr. Doesn't get Enough Sleep Because Character Design to never stop trying to be a hero.**

 **-Sherry beats Shouto (aka Shoto... make that one of the things I need to freakin' fix… but I won't) in the Semifinals. So now, Mr. Explody Pants has a worthy adversary to fight full out against.**

 **-Oh right. Denryoku is out... Honestly, maybe it wasn't the best choice to eliminate him, but at the same time I wanted to show he had no qualms with losing while still trying to win. This guy has a weird personality profile, ok? Leave me alone.**

 **-More antagonizing by Neito... Not important, but somewhat relevant.**

 **-And then the side story that would set up the Hero Killer Arc which we will not follow (at least directly) due to the OCs being in different locations... What side story, you say?**

 _Side Story: I'm Proud of You_

 _*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*_

 _"Hey, Tenya. How's my little brother doing?"_

 _"Hello, Tensei… Um… I'm doing alright."_

 _"I just saw your match. You were incredible!"_

 _"Huh? But… I didn't win. I have shamed the Iida family name by being eliminated in the first round!"_

 _"So? You got a tough opponent in the opening round. There's no shame in that, Tenya."_

 _"My opponent completely out matched my Recipro-Burst."_

 _"And you had her on the ropes the entire time! Didn't you see how injured she was after the match? You pushed her to use riskier moves that injured her own body. But I could see why you're upset with the result."_

 _"If only I had more time with my Recipro training. I could have at least put up a better fight!"_

…

…

 _"You're really something else, Tenya."_

 _"Wha—?"_

 _"When I was your age, I was still learning how to use five seconds of my Recipro-Burst. It was still a work in progress, but thankfully I didn't really need it until I went Pro. But to see my little brother use double that time in his match really made my day."_

 _"Tensei…"_

 _"Tenya, you're already on the right path of becoming a fantastic Hero, likely one better than me one day. So there's no need to rush your progress. Rushing it would probably make it worse… Then again, given our Quirks, maybe rushing is a good thing."_

 _"Tensei, please…"_

 _"Oh right… Sorry about that. I completely forgot jokes coming from me go over your head. Hehehe…"_

 _"No, I understood what you were trying to say, brother."_

 _"Oh good… Hm? Alright… Sorry Tenya I have to go. I'm being called out for a case in Hosu City. And in case you didn't get it the first time:_

 _I'm proud of you, Tenya. I'll always be there to cheer you on. I'll see you tonight. Bye."_

 _"Goodbye, Tensei. And thank you."_

 _Present_

 _Tenya could only reply that conversation over and over again after hearing what his mother just told him._

 _Tensei, his precious older brother, was taken down and nearly killed by a villain._

 **And that's a wrap from me! Au revoir! (Goodbye in Frenchman)**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **(Edit: 11/9/19**

 **This one was just asking for a redo in some places. The self analysis bit was improved just a bit. Nothing was changed in the Shoto vs. Sherry fight because you can't fix what's already perfect. But the Denryoku vs. Katsuki got revamped completely. The ending was the same, but the events leading to it was objectively better compared to what I initially had. And let's be honest, Denryoku is totally the type of person to give up just to spite someone. Right? Yeah, maybe. Like I said when I released this chapter, his personality profile is weird.)**


	13. The UA SF: The Tournament The Finals

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _After the Break_

 **"IIIIIT'S TIIIIME FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!"** screeched the Voice Hero. The Erasure Hero, finally having enough of the deafening 'commentating', had on a pair of noise canceling headphones that mostly cut the volume to one where his eardrums wouldn't rupture with each sentence that came out of his colleague's mouth. **"IT'S THE FINAL MATCH OF U.A.'S FIRST YEARS TOURNAMENT!"** The crowd came alive with an ear-splitting roar as a response, causing Present Mic to gently hold his chest in happiness. **"Aaaaaah… It warms my heart to hear such a wild response. Now let's get to the contestants that no doubt will give us a good fight! In this corner, knocking down the best her class has to offer one after another, it's Class 1-A's one and only: Sherry Teikiatsu!"**

The Cyclone Quirk user was finishing up her stretches as she traded looks with her fellow blond. All of her limbs are covered in medical bandages, it more prominent around her right arm and especially her fist. She appeared tired from how much she was trying to hype herself up with light slaps to her face. But even with her injuries and fatigue, she still managed to give her opponent smirk, promising him pain if he held back.

 **"Facing her is the guy with an attitude to match his Quirk, its Class 1-A's angry warhead of destruction: Katsuki Bakugo!"**

Said explosive teen was looking as frighteningly determined as ever with a scowl to match his bubbling ferocity. His palms were emitting tiny pops that made his hands appear as if they were glowing and his eyes were slightly shrunken in excitement. He was going to win this.

 _Meanwhile_

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Looks like Bakugo is getting pumped for this fight," Eijiro said.

"Looks like it," Hajikeru replied, sweating dropping at the antsy look Katsuki gave off. "He looks more antsy than usual, though."

"It's the final round, so of course anyone would be determined to win," Denryoku countered next to the bubble teen. He had joined the Class 1-A seating area after his match and thankfully he wasn't met with ire as before, due to Denki's earlier explanation. Well, except for one, but he put it aside for later. "Maybe he thinks the blonde girl is worthy of his time after the opponents he had to face." He was met with an irritated glare and quiet cursing from Hajikeru before he remained quiet.

"Teikiatsu isn't looking too good right now though, guys," Ochako piped up, gaining some attention. "I mean she's got bandages all over her arms and legs from her match with Iida."

"And she got seriously hurt during her match with Todoroki," Momo spoke as she watched Sherry. "She's been pushing it the entire tournament."

"Seriously," Kyoka added her two cents. "You think she would be at least tired from using her Quirk so much."

Izuku stayed quiet as he observed his classmate and former friend while weighing the possibilities of who the victor could be in his head. 'In terms of their Quirks and fighting ability, Teikiatsu and Kacchan are very similar, but they have opposing weaknesses. Teikiatsu has the range and speed advantage due to her wind abilities, but Kacchan definitely has the strength and power advantage. But considering Teikiatsu's injuries, she definitely has a disadvantage against Kacchan. She's gonna have to have something up her sleeve if she wants to beat him. ButthenagainifyouconsiderhowmuchofherQuirkshecanusewithoutgivingherselfmoreinjuriesthenshehaschanceagainsthimbutthenKacchancouldeasilymakethisacloserangefightwhichwouldgivehimtheupperhandsoifTeikiatsucouldkeepherdistancefromhimthenshehasahigherchanceatwinningbutthat'sonlyif—'

(Mumble Translation: But then again if you consider how much of her Quirk she can use without giving herself more injuries then she has chance against him but then Kacchan could easily make this a close range fight which would give him the upper hand so if Teikiatsu could keep her distance from him then she has a higher chance at winning but that's only if—')

*POP*

"AGH!" shouted a startled Izuku, a loud pop, no doubt from a bubble, snapping out of his muttering spree. "Wha?!"

"Dude, you were mumbling hardcore just now," Hajikeru spoke in a similar deadpanned tone to a certain electric Quirk user. "It's freaking us out." The nearly the entire class nodded simultaneously in agreement as if they rehearsed it.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry everyone!" It wasn't difficult to tell the meek teen would break the scale of embarrassment if such a thing existed without how red and steaming his face was. The fact that Ochako was patting his back in comfort only seemed to add to his embarrassment.

 _Final Round: Sherry Teikiatsu vs. Katsuki Bakugo_

"Hey, Bakugo!" called out the sandy blonde to the now more irritated ashen blond. "I'm not gonna hold anything back! So you better take me seriously!"

The explosive teen simply scoffed at Sherry's call out.

'Oh sure, I say that, but I don't know if I can go full out with how much I had to push it this entire tournament,' thought the buxom blonde as she eyed her right arm in subtle frustration.

 _Earlier_

 _Recovery Girl's Office_

 _"I swear, kids these days have no sense of restraint," Recovery Girl spoke in an exasperated tone as she assessed the damage done to the buxom blonde. "Slight numbness on the left arm and leg, numerous shallow lacerations along the right arm, and several deep lacerations along the right fist… Had you used your Quirk at a much higher level, you would have cut into the bone in your fingers, young lady."_

 _"Agh… I know," Sherry said as she winced at the slight movement her fingers made. The Youthful Heroine put her Quirk to work as she continued to listen to the golden eyed girl. "But if I didn't do what I did, I would have lost the match." The elderly nurse simply scoffed at the statement as she stopped her treatment much earlier than expected of the blonde, the latter feeling exhausted as a side effect of the former's power. She noticed the cuts in her fist, while not as deep as before the treatment, were still present instead of completely healed as she expected with shallow cuts around her arm remaining. The elderly nurse responded before the teen could even ask about it._

 _"This is as much as I can heal you if you wish to continue in the tournament," spoke Recovery Girl as she took out several rolls of medical bandages from a drawer, proceeding to remove the tatters that were the previous wrap and replacing it with a fresh one. "I focused my Quirk on your fingers, as it was the most concerning injury of the bunch, but I also tried to heal the rest of your arm as much as I can. Unfortunately, this was all I can do to keep you up and about. I can heal you to full health, but that would render you unconscious, something I prefer to avoid when I use my Quirk."_

 _The sandy blonde stayed quiet as she watched the elderly woman wrap up her arm, then her hand after applying some antiseptic on the cuts, to which she winced hard at. After she was bandaged up, she was given a handful of gummy bears, a trademark of the Youthful Heroine._

 _"This should keep your energy up for now. Now I don't think I need to stress how important it is that you don't use your Quirk one your left arm and especially your hand. Use it once and your wounds could open up again. Understand?"_

 _"Yes, Recovery Girl," replied Sherry, almost sounding dejected._

 _"Good. Now get going. You don't want to be late."_

 _Present_

 _U.A. Stadium Arena_

Still, even with her handicap, Sherry needed to give it everything she had in this fight. Otherwise, Katsuki would absolutely destroy her and she would have more to worry about than a battered arm. She wasn't going down without a fight, and neither was he.

 **"NOW LET THE FINAL ROUND… BEGIN!"**

A combination of explosive force and wind pressure rang out throughout the stadium as both fighters shot from their places in the arena.

Katsuki attempted to get in close to fire off a barrage of explosions at close range, but he was cut off when was force to dodge an incoming Gust Shot. His opponent then fired off a couple more of the concentrated air projectiles, to which he either dodged or countered with an explosion. He was keeping a close eye on the buxom blonde's arms and legs for any sort of rapid wind movement, as he determined from her previous matches: the faster the movement, the stronger or more concentrated the attack is. On top of that, it doesn't look like he'll need to worry about an attack from her right arm, but he can't rule out that possibility.

Sherry continued to fire off Gust Shots from both her legs and left arm, hoping to catch the explosive blonde off guard. She didn't want to move her right arm too much as a precaution to avoid opening up her wounds again. She already heard the 'kids have no sense of restraint these days' speech with Recovery Girl twice. If she goes for a third time, she may get an even worse talking to… Wait was that really a concern?

She was brought out of her thoughts by a louder than normal explosion in front of her, followed by a second, equally loud explosion from behind the first one. In tandem, Katsuki flew out of the grey cloud of ash with his left arm forward and smoking while his right was fully extended behind him. Getting an idea of what her opponent has for her, Sherry shot forward from her position with a Category 3 Gale Storm and sent her right knee forward to impact his chest. Katsuki immediately shifted his left arm downward and fired off an explosion, just avoiding his opponent's knee. As he was above her, he fired off another explosion from his opposite hand, which was still behind him, and launched both himself and Sherry into the ground. Both students hit the ground at a sharp angle, making it no different from hitting the ground straight down. Dust surrounded the impact zone, much to the audience's concern and irritation.

It was immediately dissipated by a clash of wind and explosions by both fighters. Sherry and Katsuki were engaging in close quarters combat to what looked like an even fight. Despite the handicap, Sherry was keeping up with her opponent with a combination of punches and kicks, both normal and wind enhanced, while using her Quirk to dodge as many attacks as she can. Katsuki was sticking with his fists for this one, as he doesn't have much experience using his legs as a means to attack but his explosions easily compensate by giving him full close range advantage. And every time their Quirks clashed, a pressure wave of heat and ash rushed at the audience members that were closest to the arena.

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"They're seriously going at it," Eijiro spoke in awe at his two friends duking it out without restraint.

"They're pretty much even," Rikido said in equal amazement. "I didn't think anyone could match Bakugo blow for blow."

"YEAH! KICK HIS ASS, TEIKIATSU!" Mina shouted from her seat.

"Ashido! Language!" Momo scolded in a fashion identical to when she did the same thing to the pink skinned girl during Hajikeru's match.

"Mhm, you're no fun, Yaomomo!" complained the Acid Quirk user.

While the livelier bunch was having a ball with the fight, the more analytical and observant below were watching the fight carefully.

"It's not looking good for Teikiatsu, is it?" Hajikeru quietly said as his pink, rectangular eyes stayed glue to the fight. His classmates were having a good time with the fight and he didn't want to ruin their fun by acting pessimistic.

"It should be around this time that Bakugo's Quirk increases in potency with how worked up they're both getting," Denryoku said, giving his own observations and experience fighting the explosive blond. "If she doesn't change strategy or think of something clever soon, she's not going to win."

"Dragged on fights is Kacchan's specialty," Izuku added. While he didn't particularly like to talk about his former friend's Quirk's weaknesses and strengths out of respect and confidentiality, he didn't mind telling this to both Hajikeru and Denryoku, as they had figured that out by watching Katsuki fight and from their own fights against him. "I'm not sure Teikiatsu could win this fight if this keeps up."

 _Stadium Arena_

True to the three teen's observation, Sherry was steadily losing ground against her opponent. She was getting singed by the louder and more destructive explosions that were becoming more common with every second that passes by. On top of that, her fatigue was catching up to her as her movements were becoming sluggish and her reaction time was taking a hit as well.

'Okay, not good…' thought an exhausted Sherry as she narrowly dodged another flying explosion. Through the smoke she caught a glimpse of her opponent's angry scowl that he is infamously known by. 'He's getting closer to blasting my buns into nothingness and I'm running out of steam… Shit!' She barely had enough time to counter another blast with a Category 3 Gust Shot, smoke completely clouding her vision from the resulting clash. The buxom blonde didn't expect Katsuki to come charging through the smoke with a sparking palm aimed at her midsection. Sherry's golden eyes widen in surprise as she could only brace herself from the violent attack.

"DIIIIE!"

The deafening boom that sounded throughout the stadium left everyone silent. The half the arena stage was covered in smoke and ash, and the only one of the two fighters left visible was the one that initiated the powerful attack. Some were looking on in anticipation, while others were completely shocked by the explosive teen's brutality.

As the smoke began to clear, a figure could be seen standing up on unsteady legs. She was launched several meters away from where she was last standing and now she was a mere three away from the out-of-bounds line. When it cleared to passably visible conditions, it was clear that the attack had hit very close to home. Sherry was standing there with her left arm holding her midsection in pain. There was a large chunk of her PE uniform missing around her lower abdomen, exposing the right half of her shapely hips and a portion of her pronounced abdominal muscles, all of which have light burns on them. Her eyes were dim, but she was still hanging on to consciousness with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She wasn't ready to drop yet.

"Last ditch time."

Sherry extended her arms behind her and bent her legs before she began to channel her Quirk, gradually adding rotational speed and amount to them. She wanted to go against using her Quirk in her right arm, but she needed to use it for what she has in mind.

Meanwhile, Katsuki launched himself back before sending himself upward, no doubt setting up his finishing move as well. He began firing off explosions from his palms at an angle, both propelling himself forward and giving himself spin.

The wind around Sherry's limbs expanded to the point where the edges on the arms and legs met, also increasing the speed until she had what appeared to be two large spinning columns of wind behind her. The cloth around her arms and legs was getting shredded from the intense rotational speed and the bandages around her limbs were showing signs of shredding.

At this point, Katsuki's attack had the aesthetic of a tank shell with him as the projectile, his smirk widening to face splitting proportions.

"HOWITZER…"

At the same time, Sherry named out her attack as well.

"Hurricane Force…"

The sandy blonde shot off from her spot in the arena and was a single meter away from Katsuki in a single heartbeat. The explosive blond threw his glowing palm forward, while the buxom blonde threw both of her arms forward. It was then their special attacks met in the center of the stage.

"IMPACT!"

"CATEGORY 4!"

A large explosion and two equally large columns of spiraling and expanding air clashed against each other for a brief moment before expanding outward. The resulting pressure wave of the two powerful attacks had everyone bracing harder than the fight between Izuku and Shoto. It lasted a few seconds before finally dying down, though smoke still remained in the arena stage.

From within the smoke, both fighters were standing across from one another, heavily panting and showing clear signs of exhaustion, it being painfully obvious in the sandy blonde's body. The cuts in her limbs that were previously healed opened up again, as did the deep, partially healed cuts on her right fist if the reddening bandages are anything to go by. Her clothes were in a similar state as during her fight with Tenya, but there were more cuts over her previously healed ones.

Katsuki, on the other hand, was panting hard with shaking arms hanging low to the ground. He was mostly unscathed, but the explosive teen had several shallow cuts on his arms from where Sherry's attack nicked him and his midsection had a noticeable chunk missing from where his opponent aimed her attack.

"You bastard…" muttered out a completely burned out Sherry, gaining her opponent/'friend's' attention. "You could've… killed me with that… attack…"

"Shut it, Air Head," growled Katsuki in response. "You shouldn't have used that damned attack if it was gonna wipe you out like this."

"120% effort… or everything… I do… is worth crap…"

"That's fucking reckless thinking, you dumbass."

"Yeah… it is… isn't… it…"

Sherry fell forward, her fatigue finally conquering over her consciousness. As she was falling forward, she couldn't help but be thankful that she got to fight Katsuki, even with the handicap. Of course there was going to be hell to pay when she shows up in Recovery Girl's Office again and again when she gets home. Before she hit the point of no return in her fall forward, she felt her fellow blond grab onto the back of her PE shirt and gently placed her on the floor before completely falling into unconsciousness.

The smoke finally cleared in the ring and the result of the fight speaks for itself.

 **"Teikiatsu is unconscious!"** Midnight spoke, in subtle disappointment. She was secretly rooting for the young blonde, as it wasn't often to see a girl win the entire Sports Festival. Alas, she had to admit the handicap weighed heavily on the match. **"Bakugo wins!"**

 **"HOLY F*CKING SH*T, ERASERHEAD!"** shouted a surprised Present Mic. Shota was ready with the censor bleeps after watching for the jittery shaking that usually indicated his old friend's tick for wanting to swear, a tick he never understood but was there. **"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TEACHING THESE KIDS!?"**

 **"I'm not repeating what I said just so you can call me a terrible teacher, Mic,"** droned the Erasure Hero. **"You want me repeat something, record it."** The eccentric blond childishly stuck his tongue out as a reply.

 **"AND THAT MEANS KATSUKI BAKUGO WINS THE SPORTS FESTIVAL! GIVE 'EM A SALUTE KID!"** Katsuki simply left without looking at the Voice Hero as the security bots came to pick up Sherry. **"ALRIGHT! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN U.A.'s FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL. WE'LL TAKE ONE MORE BREAK BEFORE THE AWARDS CEREMONY! WE'LL SEE YA THEN!"**

 _Class 1-A Seating Area_

"Holy…"

"…Shit…"

"That was intense."

"I feel less bad about losing now."

"I'm glad I didn't participate at all!"

"Bakugo, you genius! Not only leg, but you showed part of her supple hips. Maybe you do play for our team afterall!"

"Shut it you perv!"

"Poor Teikiatsu."

"She did her best."

"That damned brute."

The responses amongst Class 1-A varied, but one remained quiet, still shaken up by his previous match. What made him feel worse was the cold glare that Sherry gave him before leaving the stage. It was a glare he could vaguely remember his oldest brother give his father before his disappearance not long after, but he didn't think that sort of memory would stick.

He needed to fix his issues after the Sports Festival concluded, starting with making amends with some old scars.

 **(AN): Fuck me sideways, I really took my time with this one, huh? And from how short this is, I really underperformed this act, didn't I? Or is it better like this? I haven't gotten any complaints about the length of my chapters, so maybe it's not a big deal.**

 **Anyway, I'm gonna get a couple of things out here first. I recently started college again and it has been literally eating up all of my free time, at least the one that isn't dictated by video games or practicing my drawing. Anyway, with things how they are, I'm not entirely sure when I'm gonna update this fanfic or any other project I may want to tackle. This little hobby is a time consumer since it takes a bit of time to get some of my thoughts down and I'm a slow typer, so... Yeah something that takes another person to shell out in a day takes me at least a week. Hell even with what I got going here feels rushed just so I can have ends meet. That aside, I won't go over the awards ceremony, since I feel like there isn't enough initiative to go over it with the changes I have (a somewhat more docile Katsuki takes first, a very injured Sherry takes second, and I'm just gonna have Shoto and Denryoku both take the third place spot since I'm too lazy to write a third place qualifier). So no side story this time, but we're rolling right into the internship arc in the next chapter! This is where my mind is actually gonna have to plan shit out now.**

 **That's all for now! Goodnight, Mr. Bond. (There was a James Bond marathon a couple of weeks ago and there was a scene in Goldfinger that, for some reason, stuck with me... I don't know why. Also, Oddjob is a badass.)**


	14. The Internship Arc Pt 1

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _U.A. High, Class 1-A_

"I had so many people talking to me on the way here!"

"Yeah… It was kinda off-putting, honestly."

"I was getting so many looks from people, too! It was kinda embarrassing!"

"This coming from the girl that goes in the buff for her hero costume?"

"Soooo many girls talked to me on the way here! I was in heaven~."

"Old women that need help don't count, idiot."

"You'll never guess what a bunch of elementary school brats told me!"

"Oooo, lemme guess! Was it—"

"Nice try?"

"Yeah, what Tsu said!"

"You guys suck."

U.A. had allowed a day off after the Sports Festival for the participating students to recover from their excitement and injuries, for those that got thrashed during the Tournament portion. The Awards Ceremony for the Tournament went off without much of a hitch, with the only drama coming from Katsuki's reluctance to take the medal, which was forced around his head by All Might as he was the one to give the medals to the recipients ( **Note: He wasn't chained up, so he did put up a bit of a fight** ). Sherry had some trouble getting on the podium as she wasn't exactly fit to walk without assistance. She had asked Momo to help her stand up for the podium, though creation girl resisted for a moment before giving in. Shoto was still a bit out of it as he was still experiencing glimpses of his traumatic past while his fellow third placer and Class 1-B Vice President simply held his nonchalant gaze to the crowd.

The following day was simply uneventful for almost everyone, save for a few important events for some of the students. Ochako got a visit from her parents, Shoto went to visit his mother for the first time in almost a decade, Mina got a visit from her older brother, as he was college and barely got to see his family, and Tenya went to visit his older brother in the hospital. Other minor events that happened were Katsuki's epic ass-kicking of his mouth germs, Hajikeru, Fumikage, Mezo, and Tooru getting taiyaki **(That stuff is awesome, by the way)** , Sherry's minor lecture about overdoing it by her father and major lecture of overdoing it from her mother, and Denryoku getting dragged around the Hoth District by Sentsuna and Juzo. Overall, good day if you ignore the hidden angst.

The sound of the sliding doors opening snapped the students from their casual banter and into their seats as Shota Aizawa, aka The Erasure Hero: 'Eraserhead', walked in.

"Morning, class," spoke the scruffy Pro Hero.

"Good morning, sensei," replied most of the class.

"It's good to see you're out of those bandages, Aizawa-sensei," Tsuyu said.

"The old lady went overboard with her treatment, but enough about me. For homeroom today, we're going over Hero Informatics. It's like your Heroics course later on in the day, but instead you'll be doing something very crucial for your careers as future Pro Heroes." The shaggy teacher was scratching at a scar on one of his lower eyelids all the while he was speaking.

'Is it a pop quiz?!'

'Don't tell me its hero law stuff!'

'Crucial to our careers, huh? I wonder what it could be.'

"Today, you'll be picking your hero names."

"It's a totally awesome activity!" collectively shouted most of the Class 1-A students. Though their joy was immediately ceased by an annoyed glare coming from the Erasure Hero.

"Before you get too excited, let me go over the Draft Picks from the Sports Festival. If you remember correctly from when I said this last week, it's based on how well you performed in all three events of the Sports Festival and on how ready the Pros think you are for real hero work in the next few years you're here at U.A. For those that didn't receive any offers, there's still time for you to show what you can do. But keep in mind there are only two chances left for you do so. We're not going easy on you, so you better not slack off. Alright, here's the Draft Picks."

Shota clicked a button on his remote and the blackboard behind him brought up a list of the students with the number of Hero offers next to a bar that represented the number of offers.

It went as such:

Sherry Teikiatsu: 3,522

Katsuki Bakugo: 2,971

Shoto Todoroki: 2,139

Fumikage Tokoyami: 504

Tenya Iida: 412

Denki Kaminari: 381

Momo Yaoyorozu: 122

Tooru Hagakure : 99

Tsuyu Asui: 70

Eijiro Kirishima: 56

Hajikeru Utakata: 32

Ochako Uraraka: 21

Hanta Sero: 17

The first thing that was apparent was the absurdly large gap between the top three offers and the rest of them.

"Dah! You got to be kidding me with that gap!" Denki exasperatedly groaned.

"What about the real star? Moi?" Yuga asked while fuming in his seat with a pouty smile.

'He didn't do anything, though,' Mina thought from beside the sparkly teen.

"Under hundred offers people, where you at?!" Hajikeru yelled, getting ecstatic replies from Eijiro, Tooru, and Ochako, and a quiet *ribbit* from Tsuyu, while Hanta just groaned at being the one with the fewest recommendations.

"Bakugo and Teikiatsu switched places for offers?" Kyoka asked in confusion… before smirking in victory. "Nice."

"That's definitely opposite of their placements in the Sports Festival," Mashirao said.

"I bet it was because Bakugo was so brutal in his fights," Mina added. "He knocked out Utakata and Teikiatsu."

"If those Pros think I'm so goddamn brutal, they should learn from me instead of cowering like a bunch of weaklings!" Katsuki roared with an angry face.

"And who's the one with more offers, Explody-Pants?" asked a cheeky Sherry with a smug look, leaning on one of her still bandaged arms. The explosive hothead simply growled at the question.

Momo viewed the board in hidden disappointment. She knew she didn't deserve so many offers after losing in the first round of the Tournament, as she felt like her efforts to fight off Tsuyu were feeble and unimpressive at best. She sighed before turning to her heterochromic desk neighbor. "That's an impressive amount of offers, Todoroki."

"They're probably because of my father," Shoto simply replied in distaste.

"You didn't get anything, Midoriya," Minoru berated as he shook Izuku's shoulder from behind. "I told you it was reckless." The green haired couldn't argue against what the micro perv said, but he still stood by what he did.

"That being said, whether you received offers or not, you're all going to work alongside other Pros. While I admit you already experienced more than any First Year class to date with the villain-attack at the USJ, you have yet to see a Pro Hero in action. Observing and learning from them is an important asset to learn as upcoming Pros."

"So that's why you want us to choose our Hero names!" Rikido called out.

"That's right. However, the aspect is more complicated than you—"

"You want to pick something appropriate or you'll be stuck with something tragic!"

Though her entrance was off, the R-Rated Hero: 'Midnight' sauntered her way into Class 1-A, complete with sensual smile, intentionally swaying hips, and puffed out chest. "Your Hero names are what the world will call you when you debut, so you'll need to make them stick."

"Your timing's off, but whatever," Shota said as he took out his yellow sleeping bag. "Midnight's going to be judging your Hero names. It's not really my area of expertise."

 _Cue the flashback of Shota Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada in their time as U.A. students_

"There's a certain image that you make when you create your Hero name. So I suggest you take into account how you want the public to see you as. Wake me up when you finish." With that being said, several small whiteboards were passed around until everyone got one while the Class 1-A homeroom teacher went to sleep in his sleeping bag.

 _15 Minutes Later_

It turned out to be a major surprise for the students to hear they were going to present their Hero names to the entire class. It began with Yuga with the ridiculous name of The Shining Hero: 'I Cannot Stop Twinkling', which was met with silent resistance by the class. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on who you ask), Midnight green-lit the name after some minor adjustments to the name to shorten it, which immediately made the class question the R-Rated Hero's taste in names.

The next one to go was Mina with 'Alien Queen', which was a bit of an on-the-nose nod to a beloved Sci-fi classic but it sounded cool and it made sense considering her Quirk. Thing is, Midnight seems to have a distaste of Sci-fi, horror classics since she immediately rejected the name, leaving Mina a bit miffed.

After the pink skinned girl, the next one to go is Tsuyu. She went with a cute hero name, The Rainy Season Hero: 'Froppy'. Not only did Midnight approve, bit it also alleviated a bit of tension in the students and they were able to think properly on their Hero names.

From there it went as such: Eijiro went with 'Red Riot', a nod to the Vigilante-turned-Hero 'Crimson Riot', Kyoka went with 'Earphone Jack', Mezo went by The Tentacle Hero: Tentacole **(a pun that I can't, for the life of me, remember is between tentacle and… I dunno, coleslaw?)** , Mashirao went with The Martial Arts Hero: 'Tail man', Rikido went with The Sweets Hero: 'Sugar man', Mina took a second stab at her Hero name with 'Pinky', Denki picked The Stun Gun Hero: 'Charge Bolt', and Tooru went with The Stealth Hero: 'Invisible Girl', unsurprisingly.

There was a brief pause in presentations as some were still deciding on their names before it resumed with Hajikeru getting to the front.

"This will be my Hero name," the bubble teen said with the upmost confidence. "The Pop Hero: 'Bubble Buster'!" **(Can someone say 'Roll Credits'?)**

"Catchy and rolls off the tongue! Wonderful!" Midnight shouted. The bubble teen simply blushed at the praise before making his way back to his seat. He was glad to hear his Hero name approved after much pondering in his seat.

Sherry was the next one to go up.

"The Turbulent Hero: 'Cycla'!" the sandy blonde proclaimed to the class.

"Oh? Are you naming yourself after your father, The Gust Hero: 'Cyclos'?" asked an intrigued Midnight, receiving several surprised looks from the students.

"Yup! I asked if I could take up his name when I go pro and he said yes, as long as I can live up to it!"

A soft smile made its way on Midnight's face. "I'm sure you'll make him proud." Sherry bowed in appreciation before going back to her seat.

The remaining students presented their Hero names: continuing with Momo with The Everything Hero: 'Creati', Shoto simply went with his first name, Fumikage chose The Jet Black Hero: 'Tsukuyomi', Minoru picked The Fresh-Picked Hero: 'Grape Juice', and Koji picked The Petting Hero: 'Anima'. When Katsuki announced his Hero name, it was flat out rejected from how non-heroic it sounded. He didn't seem to understand that 'King Explosion Murder' wasn't a name a Hero would go by. Ochako came up with a cute little mash up of her surname and gravity to make 'Uravity'. Tenya used his own name and Izuku, surprisingly enough, went with 'Deku' as his Hero name alongside a short speech as to why he picked it. The uplifting tone that lingered after his explanation was immediately shattered when Katsuki proposed his 'revised' Hero name, 'Lord Explosion Murder', which was, to no one's surprise, rejected as well.

 _Later_

 _Lunchtime_

"So, did any of you notice how less enthusiastic Present Mic was today?" Hajikeru asked his fellow classmates as they lounged around their classroom. During their English class, Present Mic, also known as Yamada-sensei to the students, was surprisingly less quiet than his usual days. Normally he would go off on a loud tangent about how English is awesome when he doesn't receive an answer to a question, but today, he simply urged the students to guess. Oddly enough, he stayed standing next to the blackboard and only moved to leave the classroom when it was time for a subject switch. Even MORE oddly enough, when he did walk, it was very stiff and not at all like his usual swagger. It was like he was in pain or something.

"Does it really matter?" Kyoka shot back as she twirled her earphone jacks out of habit. "If he doesn't have the energy to yell, it's better for me."

"So, guuuuuys…" Mina lazily asked from her seat, drawing attention away from the bubble teen's observation. "Where do you think you're gonna intern at?"

"I dunno, I didn't check my offers yet," answered the bubble teen.

"Mt. Lady is my choice!" Minoru declared.

"There's a surprise," Sherry replied with a scowl as she glared at the little grape pervert, causing Denki to scoot away from her in fear. It should be noted that the sandy blonde made her distaste of perverts quite clear when she kicked Minoru from one end of the hallway to the other when he tried to peek under her skirt during the time between the USJ Incident aftermath and the Sports Festival.

Not really wanting to be in the same vicinity of the little grape boy, the sandy blonde took her lunch and left with Eijiro in tow. She had invited Katsuki to join them for lunch, to which the explosive blonde threw her a glare before quietly following the duo, albeit a short distance away.

"Hey, Deku, who's on your list?" Ochako asked her meek friend.

To no one's surprise, Izuku was mumbling up a storm for the third time that week. This time, he was quickly going through his choices that were left for those that didn't get recommendations, complete with multiple copies of the word 'mumble' swirling around his person.

'There he goes again,' cheerily thought Mina, Ochako, Minoru, Hajikeru, and Mashirao.

"I got him," the bubble teen said as he made a small bubble. He held it between his index finger and thumb before putting it in front if his meek friend's face and popping it with a quick squeeze.

"AH! Wha?!" Izuku took a second before looking at his classmates and friends with a flustered expression. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"It's cool, dude. We're getting used to it." Hajikeru casually waved off his friend's question with a literal wave of his large hand. "Have you come up with where you're gonna intern at?"

"Um… not yet. There are so many choices to pick from. Have you guys come up with anything?"

"Not yet, I still got to look over my offers."

"I picked Gunhead's agency!" Ochako replied with a combat pose.

"Wait, The Battle Hero: 'Gunhead'?" asked a confused Izuku. "Isn't he a combat focused Hero?"

"Yup, he sent me an offer!"

"Gunhead sent you an offer?!" interjected Hajikeru, who was once again distracted from his list of offers by the commotion going on beside him.

"Um… yeah, I just said that, Utakata."

"That's so cool! You're gonna learn so much from him! He's such a great teacher!"

"Hold on, you know Gunhead, Utakata?" Mina asked in confusion, receiving a nod in return from the bubble teen.

"He was my martial arts sensei's student one time! He asked Gunhead to substitute for him as a favor when he was sick."

"That's so cool!" Ochako said in excitement. "What's he like?"

"He's a guy that prefers to show instead of tell, but he thinks that's the best way to learn. And he likes teaching newcomers. He likes to see the progress they make after a couple of sessions with him." Ochako seemed to light up after hearing she was going to learn a much from her choice.

"That's good! I'll be able to get stronger with his training, strong enough to be a better hero than before!" The bob-cut brunette noticed something now that she was getting a good look at Izuku. "By the way, Deku, I meant to ask you earlier, but are you okay? You look like you're trembling."

"Huh?" replied a confused Izuku before realizing what she was referring to. "Oh this? It's called an 'air chair'. I'm basically sitting without sitting on the chair."

"You managed to sneak in exercise during class?" Mashirao asked a bit interested in the meek teen's actions. "That's actually pretty smart, Midoriya."

"Hey, Utakata," called out Tooru, who was previously engaged in a conversation with Tsuyu and Kyoka, as she held up Hajikeru's Hero Recommendations sheet. "I think you should file a complaint to the Hero Organization. I don't know any of these Heroes."

"Hagakure, I'm not going to make a complaint just because I don't know a bunch of Hero's names," replied Hajikeru as he gently nudged his invisible friend to get his paper back. "I'm sure Bakugo, Todoroki, and Teikiatsu have it worse than I do. Alright, let's see what we got. Red Rider Hero: 'Carbine', Soapbox Hero: 'Kart-man', Toon Hero: 'Mighty', Smashing Hero: 'Tibs', Balloon Heroine: 'Updraft', B—"

All thought processes in Hajikeru's mind came to a screeching halt as he saw three letters standing by themselves before listing an all too familiar name that he vaguely remembers. His eyes were reduced to thin, pink lines and his breath was caught in his throat.

It was the same name that a certain someone told him from the moment he decided to truly become a Hero… the moment when he decided to make his worthless Quirk into one worthy of a Hero to wield.

 _"A Quirk is only as useful as you intend tah make it tah be. If it ain't hero worthy now, den build it up, make it hero worthy for when it matters later on. Make it so people will see how dedicated you are towards being a hero, kid."_

And the very man that set him on the path of heroism had his name listed on his page of Hero Recommendations.

 **BMI Hero: Fatgum**

A high pitched, almost girlish, shriek ripped through Class 1-A, completely startling everyone still present and earning a deathly glare in the form of a volume sensitive Kyoka.

"What the hell, Utakata?!" Kyoka angrily shouted as she held her ears in pain. "Because Present Mic didn't make my ears hurt today, did you think you needed to fill a quota?!"

"I'll see you later, guys!" said bubble teen said as he dashed out of the room with a face splitting, jovial smile on his face. Not only did it leave Kyoka high and dry in terms of vengeance fulfillment, it left the less irritable students wondering what made their bubble blowing friend freak out that much. And why did he look so happy?

Oh, if only they knew.

 _A Bit Earlier_

 _Class 1-B_

"You sure you don't need help sorting through all those recommendations, Vice Rep?" Juzo asked Denryoku as he eyed the stack of 28 pages containing 1,292 offers from Heroes. The little group of three were the only students present in Class 1-B, as many of the students preferred to eat in the Mess Hall or other locations.

"Seriously, that's a stupid amount of recommendations!" Setsuna spoke with several cubes of chopped chicken stuffed in her mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Tokage," droned the electro teen as he sifted through the second page of his stupidly long list of recommendations while lazily plopping bits of leftover meat from last night's dinner in his mouth with chop sticks. They weren't sorted in any particular order, so it was difficult to find someone who may actually be worth spending his week with. "And no, Honenuki, I don't need help sorting through this. Just focus on your own recommendations."

"I already made my choice, Vice Rep," replied the lipless teen. "I only had to look through… what is it, like… 150 plus recommendations? It's a freakin' mole hill compared to your mountain."

"Ha! I get it!" Setsuna said in a muffled mess of chicken and fried rice, some of which landed on her table.

"Who did you pick?" asked a slightly annoyed electro teen; not at all surprised that Setsuna ignored his suggestion but still peeved over her lack of manners.

"I picked—" Juzo's answer was cut off by one of the entrances to Class 1-B sliding open and hitting the door stop with enough force to make a loud, audible *CLACK*.

Hajikeru quickly entered the classroom and grabbed Denryoku by the wrist before giving a quick and messy explanation to his best friend's two other friends.

"Hey Honenuki! Hey Tokage! I need to borrow Denryo for a bit! That cool? Okay, thanks, bye!" The duo then dashed down the hallway and disappeared up a stairwell that lead to the roof of the school with the smaller of the two flailing around like a ribbon, leaving the remaining two members of Class 1-B wondering what just happened. The two friends were staring out the entrance/exit doors in major weirded-out confusion before it was broken by the more enthusiastic of the two.

"Eh, they'll be back," Setsuna spoke as she went back to her meal, breaking the lingering surprise that remained.

"I wonder what that was about," Juzo asked, still a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of Class 1-A's resident bubble blower.

 _School Rooftop_

"Okay, what is this about?" Denryoku asked his best friend as he fixed his hair back to its original state, as it looked blown back from how fast Hajikeru was pulling him.

"You're not gonna believe who sent me an offer!" Hajikeru excitedly said, still suffering from his excitement high.

"Endeavour."

"What? No."

"Hawks."

"No."

"Kamui Woods."

"No!"

"Backdraft."

"Can you just—"

"What about Washy?"

"Damn it, Denryo! Would you shut up!? I'm trying to tell you that Fatgum sent me an offer!"

…

…

"Oh… Sorry for making a joke out of it." There was a subtle look of regret in his eye as he spoke, as he felt bad for making a joke out of something this important to his best friend.

"It's fine, bro. I was completely shocked that he even sent me an offer. Hell, I screamed when I saw his name before I took you away from your friends." Hajikeru let out a small chuckle before he relaxed into a small grin. "You think he remembers me after all this time?"

"It's a little hard to forget someone with your appearance and Quirk, Haji." There was a brief pause before Denryoku spoke again. "So are you going to take the offer?"

"Of course I'm going to take the offer! Why wouldn't I?"

"Alright, relax. Just remember you're there to get Hero experience, not to play buddy-buddy with a Pro. Don't let your admiration of him get in the way of your goal. That's all I'm saying."

"Yeah, I got it, man. Don't worry." While he was still nervous about the offer itself, Hajikeru was done being unsure of his choices. He has already proved to everyone that he belonged in the Hero Course, so there really wasn't anything to make him second guess himself anymore. "Well, let's head back. That's really all I got to say so… I'm sure Honenuki and Tokage were weirded out from my surprise entrance."

"Knowing them, they probably went back to what they were doing." The duo began to make their way back down the stairwell as their voices began to echo a bit. "Honenuki is probably looking over my other recommendations to help me choose a Hero agency and Tokage, with any luck, is looking over her book of dinosaurs instead of choosing agencies for me to join in her stead."

"Heh, your friends are awesome."

"I suppose so."

 _After Classes_

 _Class 1-A_

The rest of the day went on without a hitch. After Hajikeru broke the news of his long time idol sending him a recommendation for an internship to his best friend, the duo, along with Setsuna and Juzo, spent the rest of the lunch period just exploring the building after picking up their food from their respective classrooms. Class 1-A was completely empty when Hajikeru returned for his lunch, so he can assume everyone went to the Mess Hall or the various places on campus to enjoy their break.

Once lunch was over, they had a short Heroics session with Shota, All Might being unavailable for the time being. He basically went over what to expect in the upcoming internships and what sort of procedures must be upheld when working with a Pro Hero. The super condense version of his lecture goes as such:

Do whatever the Pro Hero or their Sidekicks, if the Pro is unavailable, says and don't question their judgments.

Follow the rules of using your Quirk in public spaces.

Do not take anything into your own hands unless told by the Pro Hero or their Sidekick, if they're in charge.

And be on your best behavior.

The last guideline was mostly aimed at Katsuki, which the explosive teen simply growled at.

After that, the students were let out for the day to enjoy the time before their internships start or to choose where they want to intern at if they still haven't decided yet.

As soon as the Erasure Hero left the classroom, Hajikeru immediately felt a sharp pain coming from his left temple. He let out a short, comedic yell in response to the sudden pain that had embedded itself into his head, causing most, if not all, of the students to jump in surprise. After about a second, the pain stopped and it left the bubble teen dazed as he struggled to keep his head up after that painful experience.

"Ow…" groaned Hajikeru as he turned his head using his hands to look at an extremely irritated Kyoka. "Okay, I deserved that. Sorry for yelling at lunch period, Jiro."

The pissed look on the earphone girl's face was quickly replaced to one of slight surprise. Sure she did what she did to get back at the bubble teen for making her ears ring during lunch period, but she didn't expect him to apologize so quickly after doing so, nor did she expect him to say he deserved it. She didn't know what reasoning he had for yelling so loudly but from how he sounded right now, she could tell he didn't do it with the intention of making her go deaf, as she wrongly assumed. Still, he hurt her hearing, so she dealt the suitable punishment. No way would she admit she was in the wrong.

"Just don't do it again, got it?" Kyoka said with a huff as she gathered her things to leave the classroom.

"Got it," replied Hajikeru as he tried to shake off the swimming feeling in his head.

"So that's what it looks like from this side," Denki observed in a thinking pose.

"Please," Minoru added. "He got off light. Jiro was too easy one him."

"Did I miss something?" Mezo asked as he went to check on his friend.

"Utakata screamed super loud when he was reading his Hero recommendations," Tooru answered as she bounced over to the two larger boys. "Then he left before Kyoka could get him back for making her ears go diiiiiiiiiing. I'm sure she did that to get revenge on him."

"Yeah, I'll say," Mina said as she stretched her arms out. "What the heck was that about, Uta?"

"Uta?" replied Hajikeru with a slightly red face. His fellow classmates were shuffling out of the classroom, save for several students that decided to hang back. His vision was mostly returned to normal but he still felt a little dizzy.

"Shush, answer the question!"

"Uh… okay…" The bubble teen spoke slowly to keep from tripping over his words. "I reacted the way I did because a Hero, named Fatgum, was listed on my Hero Offers Sheet. Also, he's the reason why I wanted to become a Hero in the first place."

"Really?" Tooru questioned. "That's sooo cool! But why did you scream like a girl? You made my ears ring too."

Hajikeru at least had the decency to redden even more at that statement. "Sorry. Knee-jerk reaction. I just didn't expect to see his name there."

"I'm sure it happens to all of us!" Ochako cheerily said as she walked towards the sliding doors to the classroom. "So you guys want to walk to the station?" She received several 'yes' replies as answers. "Hey, Iida, want to come with us?" She leaned her body to look around the group of friends, only to find her glasses-wearing friend missing from his seat, as oppose to staying like the rest of them.

"That's weird. Maybe he went to drop off his—" Izuku's observation was cut off by the doors to the classroom sliding open with the No.1 Hero at the entrance laughing and bowing at the hip with his head facing forward.

"I AM HERE, IN A BIZARRE POSITION!"

All the remaining students jumped at the sudden appearance of the blond Adonis of a Hero. Since Ochako was the closest to the door, she was also the one to get the brunt of the surprise entrance. Her body instinctively jumped at Izuku while her eyes were glued open towards the entrance with surprise. Similarly, Izuku held out his arms to catch his gravity-altering friend out of instinct, not at all aware as to what was going on in his situation. He had his arms around her back and under her legs, and she was holding him around the neck, both somewhat shell-shocked.

"All Might!? What are you doing here!?" collectively shouted the group.

"I need to speak with young Midoriya for a moment! If you could follow me, young man!" The No.1 Hero made a motion with his hand in a call over fashion.

"Um… sure, okay," automatically answered the bushy haired teen. As soon as he got his bearings back, Izuku's face immediately exploded in a scarlet mess when he realized who he was holding in such a compromising position. Similarly, Ochako's permanent blush marks were noticeable bigger, but she still had semblance of emotional control when she realized who was holding her. The meek teen quickly and gently set her down and hastily followed All Might out of the room, ears puffing out smoke as he walked.

When Ochako turned to speak to her friends, she was met with some wide grins coming from Mina, Hajikeru, and Tooru, even if it can't be seen. "Um… did I miss something?" she asked.

"I dunno, Ochako," Mina playfully said, causing confusion towards the gravity girl. "Do you miss being held by Midori?"

The brunette held a thinking pose for a brief moment before she replied with honesty. "It was nice that Deku caught me, but I don't really miss it. Why do you ask, Mina?"

"Tch… darn it."

And thus a lifetime of teasing was immediately snuffed from that one innocent reply.

 _4 Days Later_

 _Shinjuku Train Station_

"Alright, everyone got their costumes?" addressed the Erasure Hero to his class. "Remember, you're strictly forbidden from wearing them in public unless under the tutelage of a Hero. And don't lose them. You don't have the Support Department to replace them if you do. Understand?"

"Gotcha!" Mina exclaimed.

"It's 'yes sensei', Ashido."

"Yes sensei." The acid girl visibly deflated at being corrected for her 'improper' language.

"Alright, get going. I'll see you all in a week."

Class 1-A were on their way to their respective internships and while some of them immediately went to their station, others were trying to figure out where they needed to go, either by looking at the holographic display above the main entrance to the platforms or by conversing with their peers.

Tenya was one of the few to leave to his train platform without socializing or bidding good luck to his classmates. He was uncharacteristically tenser than usual and he hardly spoke to anyone during the days leading up to the departure day. He didn't even show up to join his friends for lunch for the two days before the weekend. Neither Izuku, nor Ochako, could even get him to open up about how he felt about his brother getting taken down by The Hero Killer: 'Stain'.

"Iida!" Izuku called out, gaining the speedy teen's attention. It was prominent on the blunette's face that he was tense about even talking to anyone. "You would tell us if something is wrong, right? We're your friends. You can trust us." At the bushy haired teen's side were Ochako, who was frantically nodding to emphasize her affirmation, and Hajikeru, who was looking on sadly at his speedy friend.

It was days after Hajikeru found out Tenya was going to intern at a Hero agency in Hosu City, the same place where Tenya's brother was almost killed. He, Denryoku, and Ochako found out through Izuku when they were wondering where Tenya was, as he had skipped out on their daily lunch meetings for the second day in a row— technically, it's the third, but they didn't notice since everyone was scattered. Both Denryoku and Hajikeru went to talk to Tenya after school on Friday behind U.A.'s main building, an isolated place where they could talk privately.

 _Two Days Earlier_

 _Behind U.A.'s First Years Main Building_

 _"Emera, Utakata," Tenya cautiously asked his two interrogators. "What do you want to talk about? And be quick. I'm expected to be home in an hour."_

 _"I'll make this quick then," Denryoku spoke in his usual bluntness. "You should give up on your revenge against the Hero Killer."_

 _It was for a brief moment, but the duo saw some shock in the speedy teen's face before settling back to its previous, steady look, albeit a bit forced._

 _"I don't know what you mean."_

 _"Iida, we heard from Midoriya that you were headed to Hosu City," Hajikeru said. "That's the same place your brother was taken down. It wasn't hard to put together."_

 _"Even so, that doesn't mean I'm going to look for him. You shouldn't assume such things, you guys."_

 _"I don't assume, Iida. I conclude." Denryoku was slowly getting annoyed at how Tenya doubted his and his best friend's intelligence. "And I came to the conclusion simply by looking through the available information on the Hero Killer's attack patterns and your admiration for your brother. Trust me when I say this, Iida. You don't want to go down this path."_

 _There was frustration building behind Tenya's indifferent façade. He wanted to keep his intentions away from prying eyes, but he didn't expect two of his friends to figure it out and approach him on this. So he decided to exploit a little detail the electro teen just said._

 _"How would you know what I'm feeling right now, Emera? Don't I feel obligated to feel upset at my brother's Hero career ending because of_ him?"

 _"You're not the only one who had something tragic happen to your family and had the urge to avenge them. At least you…" Denryoku paused for a brief moment before continuing, contemplating whether he should go further into his explanation. In the end, he decided against his better judgment. "You know what? Forget it. Enjoy your time in Hosu City."_

 _Hajikeru quickly turned his head in shock to what his best friend just said, as if he were expecting something completely different._

 _"Denryo, what are you doing?"_

 _"Letting him to his own devices. Besides, its choice to make, not ours."_

 _"You can't just let him do this. You could—"_

 _"Very well, I'll see you both again when we return from our internships," Tenya said with the fakest smile he could have conjured in his life. It was painfully obvious that he was holding his emotions down until the day he enacts his revenge._

 _"Iida, wait!" Hajikeru exclaimed before the speedy teen got out of hearing range. Tenya stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around. "I understand that you're hurting right now, and you have every right to be angry at Stain! But you can't hunt him down! That would go against everything your brother stood for! How can you call yourself a Hero if you go through with this?!"_

 _After the question of the hour was asked, it was as if the orange, setting sun saw it as a cue to glow red as it began to set behind the mountains behind the campus._

 _"As long as the Hero Killer pays, I don't care what happens to my career as a Hero."_

 _With that, Tenya left the two friends reeling back at how cold the answer felt. It was a glimpse at their friend's anger and hatred, and neither of them knew how to respond. It was then Hajikeru turned to his best friend with confusion in his eyes._

 _"Why didn't you tell him about—"_

 _"He wouldn't understand, even if I told him. Besides, his better judgment is clouded by anger and hate. Nothing will change his mind when he's like this."_

 _"But maybe he could've—"_

 _"If I didn't listen to you, Mom, or Auntie back when I went through this shit, what makes you think Iida will listen to people he barely met!"_

 _Denryoku's Quirk activated with the outburst of emotion as the studs on his fingers were violently sparking with green electricity and his eyes turned to their electric green color. Even with the surge happening Hajikeru didn't move from his spot. He barely flinched when a stray bolt struck his hand. He was far too out of it. After some deep breathing, the electro teen was calm enough to deactivate his Quirk._

 _"The only way for him to listen is to experience how foolish his vendetta is first hand."_

 _"But he could be killed."_

 _"I know. If that happens, then he would have learned nothing… and it would be on our heads because we let him go through with it."_

 _Present Day_

 _Shinjuku Train Station_

"Of course," simply replied Tenya, same fake smile as two days ago present. And with that, he left for his train without another word spoken.

 **AN: Okay, about one month later and I bring you this neat little setup piece. Now I could go into a tangent as to how college has been eating all of my Lucky Charms- I mean free time, but I think that statement is more than enough exposition than an entire column piece. So, I'm just gonna sit back, look pretty, and do my other things... Man, adulting is difficult.** **Also, I had a side story planned for this chapter, but I had to rewrite it thrice and I just gave up on it after the third time didn't work out. Also twice, this internship arc won't be that long. It'll only be, like, three chapters or something. I dunno, I still gotta write it. I'm out!**

 **-OmegaBox**


	15. The Internship Arc Pt 2

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _Kanto Region, Tochigi Prefecture_

It has been a couple of hours since Hajikeru left for his internship with Fatgum. The brief confrontation with Tenya had mostly soured his day, so he was thankful for the casual conversation between himself, Denki, and Rikido on the train ride to his stop. Katsuki was there also, but he stayed in a separate car to keep himself from interacting with the other 'extras', as he put it. When Denki went to convince the volatile teen to join them, he received a dangerous glare and what could qualify as a death threat from the explosive blond. The electric Quirk user may not be the brightest light bulb in the chandelier, but even he knew when it was time to dim the lights and avoid exploding.

Rikido was the first one to leave the train after arriving to his station, and then Denki was next to get dropped off at his station about a half hour later. That left Hajikeru by himself on the train until it was his stop.

Now he was standing in front of what he assumed was Fatgum's Office. It wasn't anything lavish from the outside. It was simply a grey, concrete building with bold letters that read 'Fatgum' across the middle of the building in English letters.

Now that he was here, Hajikeru was beginning to get nervous about what he was going to do for the internship. Sure, he got to meet his Hero after so long, but what exactly would they do for the week he was there? Physical training? Patrols? Analysis on Villains? He had been contemplating that question since he received his Hero recommendations and he still didn't have a definitive answer. When he told Denryoku his predicament, his best friend simply told him he was over thinking the entire situation. He wasn't wrong, but that still didn't give him the answers he wanted.

Still, he needed to overcome this first step to his weeklong internship with his chosen Hero and he didn't want to go back on his confident streak.

Securing his case that contained his Hero outfit and adjusting his backpack, the bubble teen walked up to the large door and knocked. He felt his heart skip a beat as the door opened after a few seconds of waiting.

When he got a look at the person who opened the door, he was surprised to see a shady looking teen with black hair and pointed ears. He was wearing a black body suit and a pair of black boots under a white cloak. Around his neck was what he assumed was a metal mouth guard with blocky, metal teeth. He had a glare on his face and Hajikeru could feel his breath leave his lungs from the intimidation the teen was emanating. The bubble teen was trying to keep from showing fear on his face, but he was quickly losing the battle from the continuous eye lock with the shorter teen.

Every fiber of the pink eyed teen's being was screaming for him to run in the other direction and never look back, but his body wouldn't listen to his upper thinking. He was frozen in place and he could only brace himself for what could happen next.

Out of nowhere, the Vulcan-eared teen abruptly stopped his glare, ran from the door, and slumped his figure against a wall, head first. Hajikeru just blinked in surprise from how quickly the killing intent disappeared. One second he feared for his life, the next second he was able to breathe properly again, and the second after that, he was confused as to why the source of his fear was on the opposite end of the room, no longer emitting the terrifying aura. Still at the doorway, he could barely hear the dark haired teen mutter, but he barely made out 'watermelon' and 'human body'. And he could be imagining things, but the pink eyed teen could have sworn he heard 'relative' in that vat of mutters.

"Um… excuse me," Hajikeru cautiously called out as he stepped into the building, still shaken from the frightening experience. It was very spacious in the inside with large doorways and a seating area with a large couch and a few chairs. There were also several refrigerators and two stoves in what he assumed was a kitchen area. "Is this Fatgum's Hero Agency?"

The Elvin teen kept his forehead against the wall, but he still pivoted enough to address Hajikeru without looking at his face.

"It is…" he muttered out. He continued to speak lowly, just under the bubble teen's hearing range. "Are you the intern for the week? Or are you looking for an autograph from him? Or maybe you're trying to infiltrate this agency to find a weakness?"

At this point, Hajikeru had completely forgotten about the intimidation he felt during the first few minutes of their interaction, as it was completely replaced with confusion on what the shorter teen was mumbling about.

"Um… The first one? I got the official papers in my bag if you want to see them."

"I'm not really allowed to see them, even if I wanted to. Only Fatgum can look at the stuff to confirm it and he's busy right now. He could be done in a few minutes. Or maybe hours. Or maybe he won't get out of his office until nightfall."

Hajikeru couldn't help but sweatdrop at the unusual turnabout in his first day. He expected to be a nervous wreck and blubbering to his Hero about his endeavors in his journey of Heroism. Instead, he was confused passed the point of proper scaling over the social awkwardness of an older teenager that was at his Hero's agency. Was he a Sidekick? Was he another intern? And what's with the Rank 11 social awkwardness? So many questions for this one moment and he doesn't think he's going to get any answers anytime soon.

"Hey, Amajiki, I'm gonna hafta push back our usual patrol time tah 14:30 (2:30pm) today," spoke a familiar voice from down the hall. This caused Hajikeru to give his attention to the doorway as he heard heavy steps approach the room he and the dark haired teen were in. "I still got to send mah findin's to the police chief and debrief him, so it will be another hour or so before we can head out."

Hajikeru's thought process was about to grind to a halt as he saw who was entering the room, but he steeled his gaze and toughened out. He wasn't going to react wildly over seeing his Hero after an entire decade or so. He was going to act professionally and act on his best behavior.

A look of recognition flashed through the BMI Hero's face before he began speaking again with a huge grin on his large head.

"Hey, kid! Good tah see ya made it!"

"IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, FATGUM!"

Well, that air of professionalism went up in smoke quickly. Still, he felt like he deserved to let it go after everything that transpired.

"Haha, likewise, kid. Listen, I got some business with the police chief, so Amajiki here is gonna show you around da place until I'm done," Fatgum said as he went to the refrigerator to pick up a tray of sweet takoyaki. "I'll be wantin' to hear how your progress has been later." And with that, the BMI Hero left with food in hand.

Of course, it left the bubble teen awestruck and his eyes were sparkling. Though he also had one other thought pass through his head as he saw Fatgum for the first time in years.

'He's a lot bigger than I remember.'

 _Chubu Region, Shizouka Prefecture_

"It's good to see you accepted my offer, Mr. Emera," spoke a calm voice from within a shrine. He was wearing a dark colored keikogi with long sleeves.

"It's good to be here. Though, I'm honestly surprised the Number 5 Hero sent me an offer," Denryoku said in his usual deadpanned voice.

"I've had my eye on you since your stunt in the first event. You identified a credible threat early in the event and completely shut him down in the following event. That sort of analysis is an important asset in a Hero's success."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"However, there is much to do with your decision making skills. Your match against Katsuki Bakugo tells me you're still discovering and applying different skills with your Quirk."

"That's right. My Quirk has many applications, but I haven't found all of them yet, or at the very least, all the useful ones."

"Let's hope to find another one or perfect a current one before our time together expires."

"We'll see, Mr. Kamihara."

 _Kanto Region, Tochigi Prefecture_

It's been about an hour since Fatgum had made his entrance and exit from the room, and the dark haired teen known as Amajiki had yet to move from his spot against the wall. Hajikeru had taken a spot on a chair across the room after an awkward 5 minutes of standing around. He was looking through his phone to see if any of his friends had sent him any messages to keep himself busy without using his data. Every now and then, he checks on Amajiki to see if he had moved from his spot. Unfortunately, every time has resulted the same way: The teen with the duck-butt hair was still leaning against the wall, head first.

'This guy either has crazy bad awkwardness or he really likes staring at that wall,' thought the bubble teen as he eyed the teen with leprechaun ears.

"Amajiki, I'm back," called out Taishiro with an empty tray in his hands as he entered the room. "How's the kid settling in?" The BMI Hero noticed said bubble teen sitting across the room opposite of Amajiki, still with his backpack and case that contained his Hero costume. "I'm guessin' he stayed there da entire time I was doin' mah business?" He received a nod from Hajikeru as a response. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. He's always like this when he answers the door." The bubble teen replied with a raised eyebrow.

'Is he serious? Every time he answers the door? Shouldn't he have an assistant or something if that happens frequently?'

"I usually have an assistant do dat, but she's out with a fever today."

'Ah, there it is.'

"Anyway, kid, we're going out patrollin' in a few minutes. Get yer Hero costume on. You're comin' with us. I'll hafta snap Amajiki outta his mumble spree before we leave."

Amajiki, meanwhile, was still focused on the wall and still coming up with weird scenarios in his head while muttering them in tandem.

"Yessir!" replied Hajikeru as he went to get changed in his Hero costume.

 _Meanwhile_

 _Hosu City_

"I'm normally one of the Heroes that are waiting around for a call to come in, but things have been so hectic lately that I've been out and about around the clock."

"Because the number of patrolmen was reduced?"

"That's right! I have to say, though, I didn't expect Ingenium's little brother to intern at my office this week. You're going to be a big help around here."

"Right."

'He has to be around here somewhere. I could be chasing a ghost in my time here, but I can't help but want to pursue him… I can't forgive him for what he did to Tensei.'

 _A Few Days Later_

 _Kanto Region, Tochigi Prefecture_

The first few days went by as smoothly as one could expect.

The first day was remarkably uneventful with Fatgum going over the usual things that he, Tamaki Amajiki, and his assistant, Shunkan, go over on a regular basis. The mornings were reserved for physical and Quirk training with a light breakfast, though it didn't matter how heavy the meal was for Fatgum, as it went straight to his already plump form. The afternoons were often reserved for patrolling around the city until nightfall, and night times were usually rest times or mental exercises on given situations that the young Heroes could encounter in their career. Both the Pro Hero and Tamaki used the morning to up their respective strengths, the former being the more physical in his abilities and the latter using that time to improve his Quirk.

Speaking of Tamaki.

While he was still rank 11 on the social awkwardness scale, the indigo haired teen was more than he showed in his first meeting with Hajikeru. He showed an intellect that rivaled, possibly even surpassed, Denryoku's own and his Quirk was incredibly versatile. His Quirk, named Manifest, allows him to 'manifest' any meat **(And yes it does include seafood, for the people that think seafood isn't real meat)** he ingests into his limbs. The quality of his 'manifestations' also depend on the amount of food he eats. It's easier to explain in practice than in concept. For example: he eats a 1kg (2.2lbs) steak, and he's able to make cows hooves on his hands and feet. If he eats another half kilogram of beef, he could manifest a pair of horns and even change his body type. In short, if Tamaki fills his stomach with one type of meat, his body can create every feature from that particular animal. 

While being able to create such manifestations is a neat trait, being strictly limited to one animal manifestation limits what Tamaki can do to adapt to situations. Therefore, every meal he has is heavy with variety. One meal is lobster with a six ounce steak and chicken legs; the next is pork chops with steamed scallops and grilled squid. It's never a dull moment during meal time at Fatgum's Hero Agency.

As for Hajikeru, he used the morning training sessions to workout out both his Quirk and physique. He had explained to the BMI Hero about his current skill set on the first day he was at the Hero Agency. Tamaki was at another part of the room during the time since he was still uncomfortable around the bubble teen. He told the Pro about his Pressure, Reinforced, and Proximity Bubbles, as well as his current physical prowess. He had explained the applications that he knew for his Special Bubbles, as he called them, and he also explained his limiting factor when it came to making them, which was his saliva production.

The overly plump Hero would give him a 'final exam' at the end of his internship. The teen's task is to successfully capture Fatgum and see if he can come up with or improve a technique that can be useful in the field. In terms of capturing the Pro, anything goes. As for the move(s), it didn't matter of what application the move or technique is, be it defensive, offensive, or supportive. It was completely up to him on how he wants to approach it.

Hajikeru was currently in his assigned room with a notepad, thinking of what he could do for his 'final exam' before he went to sleep. Since he discovered the trick of creating his Special Bubbles, he and Denryoku had made it a habit out of coming up with tricks for their Quirks. While some of the things they came up with were mostly ridiculous or impractical, some of them actually turned out to be quite useful. The bubble teen's Proximity Bubble was thought up during a game session between the two, in which he accidentally drove a car over a landmine and his character was sent flying due to a glitch, and the electro teen's Pocket Charges came from his best friend asking him if he could fire off his Green Bolt in short bursts. That in of itself took some time to perfect.

"Hm…" quietly spoke the pink-eyed teen. "What to do, what to do… From the little displays Fatgum performed during our patrols, he's insanely fast, despite his body figure implying the latter, and he's durable enough to catch bullets in his fat. So a head-on approach is out of the question. The few applications of my Pressure Bubbles in this situation is to knock him off balance and considering how heavy he has to be, it'll have to be at least as strong as a Grapefruit 2-Type. My Bubble En Masse will have to be a key factor in this fight, but I'm limited to one curtain every 60 seconds—30 if I don't use any other Special Bubbles.

"Then there's the fact that Fatgum knows most of my moves from when I told him on my first day here. Egh… If I didn't forget to tell him about my En Masse Bubble, I'd be in a serious pickle. Still, taking down or capturing a Pro is a tall order for anyone." There was a nervous scowl on the bubble teen's face as he thought out loud. "Oh well, it's not the first time I've had to deal with something big. At least the stakes aren't as high as the USJ Incident. I just gotta think of it like the Sports Festival, except more important." He checked the time on his phone to see it was almost 10. Seeing as it was time for him to hit the sack, as he was planning on training early in the morning, Hajikeru set his phone to 6:30 and put it on silent mode.

Had he forgotten to put it in silent mode, he would have woken up to a vague message regarding Izuku's location in Hosu City.

 _A couple of hours earlier_

 _Hokuriku Region, Miyagi Prefecture_

 _Seichan's Memorial/Recreational Park_

The past few days have been an incredible disappointment for a certain dark haired President of Class 1-A.

Momo had initially chosen Uwabami's Hero Agency, alongside Itsuka Kendo, in the hopes of learning important lessons of becoming a Pro Hero, as the Snake Hero was ranked 22 in the Hero Rankings last year. Surely someone with that high a rank knew a thing or two about what it took to be a Professional Hero, right?

The Pro Hero seemed to put more of her focus on her side job, which is being a model, than she did into any actual Hero work. Her idea of 'patrolling the city' is stick around a single area for hours on end, signing autographs and taking pictures with her near infinite number of fans. Momo and Itsuka were basically the Pro Heroine's entourage rather than interns. The poor girl has made several attempts to be enthusiastic about the internship, but they fell flat so many times that she couldn't really put much of a positive face without forcing it anymore.

After getting back with Itsuka and Uwabami after a dinner party and changing out of a fancy dress, she had excused herself to get some air. At this point, she was questioning her worth as a Hero in training. Sure she had the brains to be intellectually superior to most, but even a supercomputer is completely useless against someone with wire cutters if they're fast enough to avoid the countermeasures. Her fight with Tsuyu showed how incompetent she was in a fight with a faster or stronger opponent. The incident in the USJ proves she can think on the fly to better the situation in her favor, but the Sports Festival made it seem like it didn't matter if she didn't have time to think.

Thus she finds herself in this park trying to forget about how her confidence was at an all time low, a stark contrast to a week before.

"Hey…"

Momo shrieked in surprise from the sudden disturbance from behind. She quickly made a staff from her exposed forearm and went to swing at her offender. When her swing missed from her initial attack, the regal girl was going for another swing of her staff up until she heard her offender speak.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" shrieked a familiar voice. "Take it easy, Yaomomo! It's just me! Your favorite blonde bombshell!"

Momo blinked in confusion before getting a good look at her 'attacker'. She noticed a familiar head of blonde hair, surprised, golden eyes, and curvy, athletic figure bent over backwards at the waist. She was trying her hardest not to fall backwards as she flailed her arms in an attempt to keep her balance.

"Teikiatsu!?" Momo asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The sandy blonde, forcing herself to stand up again with a small burst of her Quirk, managed to relax from her 'brush with death'.

"I was out for an evening jog around the park when I saw you here. You look like you deep in thought because I was following you for a few minutes and you didn't even notice me."

"Y-you were?"

"I mean, I wasn't announcing my presence, but you should have at least heard something behind you."

"Um… right…"

The curvaceous blonde noticed the lost look in her fellow classmate's face. It was such a different feeling to see the normally confident girl look so unsure of herself. She noticed something back during the Sports Festival's award ceremony when she asked the dark haired girl to help her onto the podium and said girl hesitated before caving in, but the sandy blonde thought it was stage fright initially. Seeing as they were both standing in the middle of a park at around 22 (10 pm), she could rule out stage fright as a reason for why class president is so down.

"You okay, Yaomomo?" the blonde asked in concern. "You look a little… um… not you."

"I'm sorry?" replied the dark haired girl.

"I mean, you don't seem like yourself right now. Or even after the Sports Festival, now that I think about it."

"Well… I, uh… I didn't have a good day today, so I went out for some air."

The blonde's eyes widened slightly at hearing the dark haired girl's reason, which prompted her to lead the latter to a nearby bench.

"Oh god, did something happen during a patrol?"

"Um… no. Nothing of note happened during any of my patrols."

"Well, did the Hero you're interning with say or do something wrong?"

"No, she didn't say anything out of place… or do anything bad…"

"Well… Um… ah crap. I don't know what else to say! I had a thought, but I forgot what it was!"

Momo lightly giggled at her friend's frustrated banter. "It's alright. I think I'm just overreacting over this whole thing. It's not a big deal."

"C'mon, Yaomomo. If it wasn't a big deal, you wouldn't be overreacting over it." Sherry then pulled up and crossed her legs onto the bench so she was completely facing her classmate, face completely serious all the while. "So spill it. I got all night."

Momo let out a heavy sigh seeing as the sandy blonde would not leave her alone on the subject until she came clean. She could lie to her and keep everything to herself, but she knew if she did it would hinder her progress to her goal. Taking a large breath, she began her tale of frustration and inadequacy during the past week.

She went over how she felt helpless against Tsuyu in the Sports Festival and her feelings after the loss, how she felt unworthy of receiving so many Hero Recommendations, how she felt underwhelmed over being in Uwabami's Hero Agency, and finally how competent she is as a Hero in training. It was a good 20 minutes before Momo finished her tale. Not once did Sherry break eye contact with the dark haired girl's face, nor did she break her serious façade. Well, except for…

"Did you really take an internship for Uwabami without knowing what she does on a regular basis?" she asked in a deadpanned manner.

"I… uh… didn't think she would be like this outside of Hero work," replied Momo with a saddened face.

Seeing as she made a mistake in berating her classmate, Sherry went back to what she intended to do before she instinctually called her out.

"So you're feeling like you're in rock bottom because of a loss at the Sports Festival and from an internship that didn't live up to your expectations?"

The regal girl nodded before she replied. "I don't know if you know this, but I come from a prestigious family…"

"Not really hard to notice from the way you speak, honestly."

"…and naturally, expectations for me are usually high. I never experienced any kind of crushing loss before in my life. There have been moments where I've felt overwhelmed, but it always worked out in the end. It has never gotten to the point where I felt this bad about myself. *Sigh* I must sound like an over privileged girl that complains over the most minor of problems."

"Well… That just means you're part of the club now, huh?"

Momo was thoroughly confused over what Sherry just replied. She was pretty much pouring out all her insecurities to her friend and she responds with something as minute as 'welcome to the club'?

"I mean, I get it. You go through some shit, you don't how to deal with it, and next thing you know, you end up flat on your face with both your legs bleeding wondering how the hell everything turned out so wrong."

The dark haired girl could only look in surprise and a little shock over what one of her blonde classmates just told her. However, as much as she wanted her to elaborate further, from the semi-aggressive tone of her voice, with a subtle undertone of sadness, she simply kept to herself from prying any further.

"So…" carefully spoke Momo. "How did you deal with it?"

The blonde simply smiled at her friend's question before she replied. "'Live life at 120% and you'll never be disappointed in your choices.' That's my dad's favourite phrase. It's something I want to live by throughout my life. I don't want to live with regrets. Sure, I'm going to have doubts along the way, but I want to live with the assurance that I know I can make it through." Sherry placed a comforting hand on the regal girl's shoulder and gave her the brightest smile she could muster. "So don't you worry your pretty little head over this stump on the road! You'll get through it, no problem!"

Here she was, sitting on a bench with a classmate she didn't expect to run into with her mind in muddled by doubts. Momo never expected her evening walk to work out the way it did now, but she was glad it did. She wiped away some bits of moisture that accumulated in her eyes before looking at the sandy blonde girl.

"Thanks, Teikiatsu. I really appreciate your help."

"No problem, Yaomomo. Also, it's Sherry. None of that last name thing between us anymore, 'kay?"

"Sure. So, how is your internship going?"

The blonde girl let out a whistle in amusement before she spoke. "Tough. Let me tell you what Miruko puts me through on a daily basis."

Both girls spent another hour talking before separating for their respective Hero Agencies, both feeling relieved and uplifted from the evening encounter

 _Late Night_

 _Bullet Train En Route to Hosu City_

"One of the many features for a Hero to have is to adapt to any situation, no matter how the circumstances come to be," spoke the Ninja Hero: 'Edgeshot'. Earlier, said Hero received a call from the chief of police in Hosu City to assist in the search of The Hero Killer: 'Stain'. Several sightings were reported since his appearance last week in which The Turbo Hero: 'Ingenium' was left for dead. The villain's superior mobility and overall stealth capabilities made him a very difficult criminal to track, despite his attack patterns being easy to pick up. Which is why the Ninja Hero was called in to assist in the search. "This may be advanced for someone your age, but it's necessary for you to attain as much experience as you can while you're young."

"That sounds a bit reckless, but I can see your reasoning, Edgeshot," replied Denryoku in his Hero outfit. It consisted of a black, leather trench coat with two larger versions of his studs jutting out of each of his deltoids. Under his coat sleeves were electri-green, conductive arm sleeves that were used to enhance his arms when he applied Super Charge to his arms. He was wearing black pants and a pair of heavy duty boots. This would have been considered a normal outfit, had it not been for the electric green headpiece with two of his studs jutting out like little horns and dark tinted goggles that he had around his neck.

"We'll be seeing how far along you are in your mobility training by taking the roof tops to our destination." As the train arrived at Hosu City Station and the two made their way out, Denryoku received a message in the form of a vibration from his phone. Seeing Izuku's name in the sender's slot, Denryoku opened his messages to see what it was. It was simply a GPS location on the other side of Hosu City. He had a very bad feeling about what the message implied, so he was quick to inform Edgeshot of the newly acquired information.

"Hey, Edgeshot," called out the Ninja Hero before he used his Quirk to get to the top of a roof. "I think one of my friends may be in trouble."

 **AN: UUUUUGH… I swear it's not my intention to make these updates longer and longer from one another. I'm still somewhat active here since I started another story about a month ago and… updated a week ago. I would've updated as soon as I finished my university finals, but I was going on holiday the day I finished. Yup… Anyway, here we have a lot of… well, not much, actually. This was a very difficult chapter to write, since I didn't really have a lot of material, or imagination for that matter, to actually flush out the characters here. Sure, there's Tamaki, but he's not exactly relevant here. I thought of having him be a sort of mentor during Haji's stay there, but that doesn't really fit into his shy nature. Honestly, I have more going on with Denryoku and Sherry than I do with Haji… Ugh… It's not frustrating, but it does miff me a bit. Thankfully, the 'final exam' is going to take up a bulk of the next chapter to round out the Internship Arc, so that'll be fun for me to write.**

 **Also, just so we're clear on the internships, here's where the OCs are interning at:**

 **Sherry—Miruko**

 **Denryoku—Edgeshot**

 **Hajikeru—Fatgum**

 **I got others listed, but I'll save that until after the Internship Arc.**

 **Okay, see you next time!**

 **-OmegaBox**


	16. The Internship Arc Pt 3

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _Chubu Region, Shizouka Prefecture_

 _Early Morning_

Despite the all-nighter, Denryoku was more awake than any normal person would be. He had just gotten back from Hosu City with Edgeshot, who was also taking the all-nighter rather well, and he was conflicted, to say the least.

As it turned out, the message he had received from Izuku was indeed a hastily made cry for help or reinforcements. Both the Pro Hero and the student made haste to the location, via the rooftops. It was a minor chore for the Hero in training, as it required some quick thinking and using Super Charge as sparingly and as safely as possible. They both made it to the given location without much trouble, though the younger of the two arrived a bit later due to his limitations.

What he saw was chilling. Standing over a corpse of a newly killed Nomu and a frightened Izuku was the Hero Killer himself. He wasn't moving or even speaking, simply standing there with his eyes rolled up and drool coming out of his slightly agape mouth. And from the reactions on the faces of those that were also present, the two can easily say something had them completely spooked.

An old man that looks to be another Pro Hero wasn't moving, the U.A. students didn't look like they were breathing, and even Endeavour and his Sidekicks were left speechless. They later found out Stain had spilled out his ideology for everyone that was within earshot to hear, and how his sick, twisted method of murdering 'fake' Heroes was all to build a greater Hero Society. How 'true' Heroes are a rarity, becoming more scarce as time went one and how the only one to kill him was All Might as he was a 'true' Hero.

As such an explanation was explained to them, Denryoku could only feel disappointment towards one person right now. As he and his best friend had suspected, Tenya did actively seek out the Hero Killer out of revenge. There was a little bit of him that wished he was wrong and that they were over-thinking the situation, but it went up in flames and ash when he saw the speedy teen's bloodied arms. He had smartly put up his goggles before the encounter and tucked away his fingers into his pockets so that there was no physical evidence of his flaring emotions. He kept control of his voice when he went to speak with his fellow classmates, simply checking on them before pulling Tenya aside to speak with him privately.

" _So you actually did it. You actually hunted down the Hero Killer out of revenge."_

" _Emera, I—"_

" _I don't want to hear it. Look, I didn't tell you what you needed to hear because I knew you weren't going to listen. But now that you've had this, maybe you're more than willing to lend me and Haji an ear when we get back home… That is, if you're Hero career isn't over."_

That was what he told the speedy teen before leaving. It was cold, yes… border lining on merciless, but such a lesson had to be taken in its entirety, pain and repercussions and all. He suffered through them in a similar experience, afterall.

"Is there something one your mind, Emera?" asked Edgeshot as he took a meditative pose in the ornate hall.

"Simply something I hoped one of my friends learned the hard way," simply replied Denryoku. The electro teen had learned a day after being at the Ninja Hero's agency that said Hero was really good at reading facial expressions and body movement. It allowed him to tell if something was out of the ordinary for the person he was observing and to see what made them tick. While the dark haired teen was good at hiding his facial emotions, he still had physical ticks that were not as easy to conceal. However, the Ninja Hero could also take a hint and know when he wasn't allowed to know something.

"Very well. We will resume our daily activities in five hours. Get some rest."

"Got it."

 _Several Days Later_

 _Kanto Region, Tochigi Prefecture_

 _Fatgum's Hero Agency_

All the workplace experience done in the week was leading up to this moment.

The morning after the incident at Hosu City, Hajikeru was quick to contact both Izuku and Tenya to see if they were alright. He had only received a reply from his green haired friend, but said greenette said that they were both in the same hospital room. Other than a few injuries that would require a few days of rest, the both of them and Shoto were fine.

That being said, because his glasses wearing friend went against what both Hajikeru and Denryoku had asked of him before internships, that would mean they would have words with him when they get back.

In the following days up to the end of the internship week, the bubble teen had put his entire focus into the 'final exam' given by Fatgum. Just because he was curious as to why his Hero his making him do something like this, he had had asked him during one of their patrols.

The BMI Hero replied with a comment about how underdone the pastries in his possession were as he took a bite out of one, despite the pink eyed teen obviously seeing that the pastries were perfectly fine. He looked over to Tamaki for some assistance in understanding what the Pro Hero was implying, but all he received was a shrug of the shoulders.

Surprisingly, Tamaki had been less reserved with Hajikeru over the week. It never resulted in a full blown conversation between the two, but the elf-eared teen did give off bits of advice to the pink eyed teen during the morning training sessions. It was good to see someone that gave him the evil eye and then the social awkwardness card on the first day acting so relaxed around him. Tamaki was now at rank 8 social awkwardness instead of 11.

Finally, it was time for his 'final exam' to be underway.

Hajikeru was clad in his Hero outfit, idly adjusting his gauntlets as he eyed the plump Pro Hero in determination. Across from him was the BMI doing his stretches, which was much more impressive than anything that the pink eyed teen could accomplish right now.

"Remember, kid," started Fatgum. "In order to pass mah little test, yer gonna hafta successfully capture me and impress me with a move that you came up with. I'm free to counteract any move you try an' make, so come at me seriously. Da highest Pressure Bubble you can use is the bigger grapefruit. Any higher dan dat and I could be orderin' a new pull out mirror. Lastly, yer free tah use anything in the room to yer advantage. You think you can do dat? Yer 15 minutes start on mah mark."

Hajikeru eyed the room to see what he was working with. The room was mostly consisted of solid hardwood floors and concrete walls, something he is very familiar with. One half of the room was usually filled with mats and various weights lining the wall, while the other half was usually vacant, save for the pull-out mirror along one of the walls. It was the place he and Tamaki alternately used to practice their Quirks.

Now, all the weights and mats have been stored somewhere else and, to his confusion, the room was completely empty. There wasn't anything in the room that he could use against Fatgum. The only other thing, or person in this case, in the room was Tamaki, clad in his own Hero outfit, and he wasn't a thing. Although…

"I'm ready, Fatgum!" shouted Hajikeru in an effort to hype himself up.

"Dat's what I like tah hear!"

Taking that as a cue to go, Hajikeru quickly charged the BMI Hero with a quick Orange-Type Pressure Bubble.

'The best thing I have going for me right now is how I use my bubbles. He doesn't know about my Bubble En Masse, but I'll have to be close for it to be effective. If things go right, I should be able to get right up to his face and get a clean hit with a Pressure Bubble.'

As he closed the distance, the bubble teen created a grapefruit sized bubble and an orange sized one in quick succession. He then flicked the smallest of the three, causing it to burst in a sudden gust and sending the larger bubble towards the BMI Hero.

'What's he plannin'?' thought the plump Hero as he moved to the side of the attack. The bubbles were moving slow enough for him to sidestep them without any effort, but he was still weary of the attack itself. From what he saw at the Sports Festival, his temporary intern could match up to Katsuki Bakugo in terms of raw power. Unlike the latter, Hajikeru didn't have the endurance to keep up with the explosive blond, nor did he have the tactical thinking to outwit him. His tactics were one dimensional at best and the only time it wasn't was when he tried to mix it up with different bubbles instead of constantly using Pressure Bubbles.

After a few seconds, the Grapefruit sized bubble exploded in a burst of wind, not even budging the BMI Hero from his position. However, that wasn't the problem. As it was a strong gust, Taishiro had to squint and cover his eyes from the stinging sensation of the wind.

Seeing as the Pro Hero had covered his eyes, there was a small window of opportunity for the bubble teen to get close. He quickly made a Grapefruit-Type Proximity Bubble with a bit more of his saliva than usual. While the shell wasn't as strong as the normal Proximity or the Reinforced Bubble, he only needed it to have it intact when it made contact with the ground. It took a bit of his saliva to make, but his next move required the bubble to be close to or make contact with the ground without bursting.

Once the bubble made contact with the ground, he did a quick running start before stomping it with both feet. As a result, the bubble propelled Hajikeru forward feet first at a staggering rate. He made contact with the Pro Hero when he impacted Fatgum's large body. But instead of actually dealing damage or moving the Pro Hero from his position, the pink eyed teen's feet just sunk into the BMI Hero's plump frame.

"Get me to cover mah eyes to keep me from predicting yer next move, eh kid?" Fatgum tauntingly asked. "I know yer aware of mah ability to catch and absorb anythin' with mah with mah fat, so why go this way?"

He got his answer when Hajikeru grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, brought his face to his, and covered his entire face with a blanket of white bubbles. The Pro Hero recoiled at the sudden attack and went to remove the bubbles to clear up his vision, but then felt the bubble teen remove himself from his stomach and then sprinted around to get behind him. Hajikeru then blew a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble and blow it upward using his breath until it was parallel to the BMI Hero's head. As soon as it detonated, it sent the Pro Hero forward to the floor, hitting it with a loud thud. Hajikeru had braced himself for the up close detonation with his body turned sideways to reduce drag. After the explosion of wind, the bubble teen went to subdue the Pro Hero in a way similar to how Katsuki held him down: both legs on his arms and his hand on the back of his head. As an insurance policy, he created a small Proximity Bubble as a threat to the Pro Hero.

"Do *cough* Do you yield?" asked Hajikeru in a very rough voice. With what he had done in the past minute or so, it's no surprise to hear his voice so rough.

"Hehe, that was good, kid," replied a muffled Taishiro, his head turned slightly so that he could communicate. "Covering up mah sight so that you could topple me from behind. That wasn't bad. However…" The BMI Hero made a show of his strength by lifting himself up, despite his arms being pinned down. That action threw Hajikeru off of his back and onto the floor in front of his opponent. "If I yielded there, I would have made this test too easy. Now I won't be throwin' punches, but I ain't gonna make it as easy fer you tah get me like before."

As he felt the inside of his mouth with his tongue, Hajikeru grimaced at the turn of events. He thought that the test had been unusually easy, but that was only because he managed to catch the Pro Hero off guard with his Bubble En Masse. Now that Fatgum knew about it, he couldn't use the same trick another time.

As he got up, Hajikeru was quietly going over what he could do next.

'He said he wasn't going to retaliate against me, but I don't think that makes for a good reason to just sit around and wait for my salivary glands to rehydrate my mouth,' contemplated the bubble teen. 'The cool down time for my special bubbles should be about up, but I need more time for my next plan of action. I could try to face him hand to hand, but after that trip to the floor, I don't think that plan will fly.'

Meanwhile, Fatgum is quietly watching his young opponent with a look of expectation. Seeing the same child from so long ago go toe to toe with him, or at least as close as he will allow— he would have destroyed him if he went all out— somewhat brought back a bit of nostalgia. Even a decade back, when he first met Hajikeru, he could see the want and desire to be a Hero that he saw in himself when he was growing up. He himself had gotten a late start when it came to the path of Heroism, but it didn't make the journey there any less significant.

Seeing a child with a similar opinion of his own Quirk so early in their life had struck a chord with Taishiro. He hadn't decided to work as a Pro Hero until he was early in his career as a police officer. When he had met Hajikeru, he was at the starting rankings within the police force. He had been a police officer for about eight months at the time and he was already garnering the feeling of hollowness within his occupation. Seeing the Pro Heroes be the spearhead of most, if not all, operations, it made him seem insignificant. It left him wanting to do more and the only way to do that was to become a Pro Hero himself.

When he had met the bubble Quirk user all those years ago, he was still in the process of getting his Quirk up to snuff with the high standards of Pro Hero certification. All the things he had told the then child, more specifically the Impact Stockpile, were in the early phase of testing and he wasn't sure if they would work in practice. Thankfully, they did and he was a certified Pro Hero after serving six years on the police force.

The BMI Hero had to prepare himself now that Hajikeru had begun his next move.

The pink eyed teen used an Orange Type Pressure Bubble to propel him sideways towards the wall where Tamaki was residing. As soon as he did, he made a curtain of bubbles similar to when he sprayed Fatgum earlier, except this one covered a large portion of the area, to the point where he couldn't see him behind it.

Once again, Taishiro had to wait for what was to come. Unlike last time, however, he had full reign to completely stop his young opponent if he makes a move. Sure, he could bulldoze through the curtain of bubbles, but he could be running into a trap, one that included his Pressure Bubbles or another round of the mass of bubbles. And then there was that other thing if he was paying attention to the rules. Knowing that, the smartest move for him for now is to wait it out.

Fatgum had to wait a brief moment before the curtain exploded outwards the Pro Hero in a mess of white bubble patches. After shielding his eyes to avoid another moment of blindness, Taishiro spotted the bubble teen attempting to grab his arm as he was dashing forward. As he was doing that, the Pro Hero spotted several bubbles set up in a line formation behind the young Hero-in-Training. He figured it was for some plan to send him towards one of the walls in an effort to subdue him. Fatgum dodged the bubble teen's attempt by quickly dashing to the side and around the line of bubbles, no doubt Pressure Bubbles from how thick the shell appeared.

Hearing a loud pop, he saw Hajikeru pursue him towards one side of the room and then create an Orange-Type bubble that he then held in his hand. The Pro Hero's immediate thought was a Proximity Bubble, as he was holding it in his hand like he would a fragile water balloon and he was thrusting it forward towards him. At the same time, it looked as though the bubble teen was blowing up a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble to blow in tandem with the Proximity Bubble. Seeing what was going to happen, both Fatgum and Hajikeru braced themselves for the incoming explosion of wind.

With a squeeze, the Proximity Bubble exploded just short of the BMI Hero's body and as a result, the Pressure Bubble on Hajikeru's lips and the ones lined up exploded as well. The force of the wind was enough to push the BMI Hero enough to have him skid a couple of centimeters back, but he still had to cover his eyes at the rate the wind was blowing. At the same time, the strong turrets of wind pushed Hajikeru to one side of the room and he impacted the wall, his chest piece absorbing most of the impact. But even as he hit the wall, he still had to go through with the plan he set up.

Hajikeru quickly peeled himself off the wall and made a Grapefruit Type Pressure Bubble to propel him towards the BMI Hero. As he approached him, the bubble teen created two Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubbles back to back and flicked them both as he dived to the floor. The resulting pressure wave was enough to visibly push back the Pro Hero, to said Hero's surprise.

Taishiro didn't expect the young Hero-in-Training to pull such a move so quickly after the previous attack. However, there was something that was striking him the wrong way. He knows Hajikeru isn't able to damage him with physical attacks, as only the strongest were able to bypass his Fat Absorption and do actual damage to his body. So why the barrage of Pressure Bubbles? Unless…

"NOW, AMAJIKI!"

Fatgum could only smirk at that line.

'Good call, kid.'

After hearing the pink eyed teen shout that line, the BMI Hero felt something slimy wrap around his midsection, arms, and legs several times, immobilizing him. Looking down, he noticed a reddish-pink tentacle with suckers being the source of his immobilization.

"Nice job, kid. Looks like you figured out mah test," spoke the BMI Hero. He noticed the pink eyed teen breathing heavily as he sat up from his little dive move. "Tired?"

"*cough* Yeah, *Argh* just… *cough* just give me a minute," said the bubble teen. The last few maneuvers had completely dried up his mouth, and his throat to a minor extent, so it was difficult to speak at the moment. He was given a bottle of water via one of Tamaki's tentacles, which he downed in seconds. After allowing his mouth to rehydrate with the water, he positioned himself to a sitting position.

Tamaki released the plump Pro Hero from his grasp when said Hero told him to remove the tentacle from around his body. He was looking at the seated Hero in training with an expected look.

"Now then, kid." This got Hajikeru's attention from his short rest. "How exactly did ya come to the conclusion in yer last plan?"

A look of confusion was on the pink eyed teen's face as he looked up at Fatgum before he realized what was being asked of him. It was like when he and Tamaki were reading up on some police reports that the Pro Hero let the two young Heroes analyze. With what little information that was on the report, the two had to come up with reasons and evidence for said reasons as to why the contents of the reports are the way they are. It was a good mental exercise and it allowed Hajikeru to dip his feet into the darker aspects of being a Pro Hero.

At first, he was adamant about reading the reports, as he was a bit squeamish about some explicit details in some of the reports. However, Hajikeru had a much needed push from Tamaki when the older teen told him about his first hand experiences with such crimes. The manifestation teen didn't say more than a few sentences, as he was still a bit shy around the pink eyed teen, but the message was clear enough for the latter to understand how important it is to be exposed to the dark side of Heroism.

" _The sooner you're exposed to it, the easier it will be to handle it when it really matters."_

Going by that, Hajikeru, still a bit hesitant about the contents of the reports, made an honest effort to piece together and reason with what the reports contained. Overall, it gave him a push to improve his analysis skills and it should help him be comfortable with certain images.

"Okay," started Hajikeru in a rough voice. "One thing that really bugged me when you were setting the rules was when you said I could use anything in the room, and since the only other thing in the room was Amajiki, I thought you were talking about him. Also, you said the goal of the test was to capture you and show a new move. I did the move. I call it the Landmine Proximity Bubble."

"It's just different enough to pass as a new move, so good on ya."

"Oh… uh… Thanks." The bubble teen simply blushed at the praise before continuing. "And for the first objective, I'm not the capturing type, but I had to try it first. When the first attempt failed, not for lack of trying mind you..." Hajikeru ignored the snickering from the BMI Hero. "I figured I needed to do something different. And going back on the rules, I figured I should ask for Amajiki's help since he can actually capture people with his tentacles."

"But there was da chance dat he didn't have octopus today. What would you have done den?"

"Amajiki had octopus everyday for breakfast and lunch since I've been here. I'd be surprised if he didn't have it today. Even if he didn't have it, I'm sure he could have done something to hold you down."

Tamaki turned away to hide his reddening face from the praise.

"Hm… Well, congrats in passin' mah test, kid!" Hajikeru's eyes lit up in surprise. "You created a new move and you succeeded in capturin' me! Good job!"

There was a brief moment of silence before the bubble teen let out a shout of accomplishment. Both the BMI Hero and the older teen had a large grin and a subtle grin on their faces, respectively.

 _About an Hour Later_

"Alright, ya got everythin'?" asked the BMI Hero. "Ya know if ya leave anythin' behind ya ain't gonna see it again."

"I only brought some writing stuff, my backpack, and my Hero stuff," replied Hajikeru. The two and Tamaki were in the main area of Fatgum's Agency with the youngest of the three carrying his Hero suitcase in one hand, his backpack on his back, and several boxes of various desserts on the other hand. "Not sure if I'm allowed to take all these boxes onto the train home, though."

"Hehehe… You'll be fine kid. They aren't gonna detain ya for bringing some desert onboard." A look of realization appeared on Taishiro's face. "Oh, right! Before you go, dere's another thing I got tah tell ya about da test."

This stopped the bubble teen in his place as he was contemplating which box of desert would go in his bag. "What do you mean, Fatgum?"

"I woulda told ya this anyway if ya didn't pass mah test, but it almost slipped mah mind. Ya wanna know da reason why I gave ya da test?"

"Because you want to see how far along I am in my Hero studies?" Hajikeru asked as he tried to stuff a box of momiji manju ( **AN: Look it up** ) into his backpack. It's about as big as his torso. He shouldn't be having that much difficulty.

"Eh… You're in da right ballpark, but not entirely. Ya see I wanted to see firsthand if ya made strides in makin' yer Quirk Hero-worthy."

Hearing the same term again from the same man that put him on the track of Heroism made Hajikeru stop in his tracks in nostalgia.

"I've already told ya about how mah Quirk didn't seem like it was up to snuff for Pro Hero work before, but I wanted to see how you managed to overcome what you thought was worthless at first. Ya see, kid. All of us here were da same at one time."

The bubble teen lifted his eyes to both the BMI Hero and the older teen, who was averting his eyes so that he didn't make direct eye contact.

"At one point, we all thought our Quirks were useless in dis line of work. Me wit mah Fat Absorption, Amajiki wit Manifest, and you wit Bubble Breath. We didn't tink we could have a place in dis profession, but we didn't give in to our doubts. Where we go from here, no one is certain, but it's what we want. For what our reasons for bein' a Hero could be we need tah stay true to them no matter what."

Hajikeru just stood there absorbing everything the BMI Hero was telling him. It pretty much was a tell that everyone has gone through some hardship when it came to becoming what they want, this case being a Hero. However, it hardly ever occurred to him over how people with similar backgrounds to his, being born with an initially worthless Quirk, probably had it about as rough as he did. He somewhat had an idea over how Taishiro was probably treated as a child, and he could only speculate over how the same could have occurred with Tamaki.

They were all underestimated for their supposed weak Quirk, but they were going to make strides in the Hero world. Maybe it won't be as big as All Might's accomplishments, maybe not even Top 10, but they were going to make their names known. And then they can tell the tale of how they overcame an obstacle that many didn't bother to overcome.

A strong determined grin made its way into Hajikeru's face as he locked eyes with the BMI Hero. "I'm still not to the point where I'm strong enough to take on the most threatening villains, but I will get there! No matter what, I will become a Hero with a Quirk worthy to wield it!"

The BMI Hero gave out a hearty chuckle at the young teen's tenacity and dedication to his goal. Tamaki, on the other hand, was looking at the younger teen with an equal look of determination, almost akin to his scary face from a week earlier.

"Good tah hear it, kid! Now get outta here. Yer gonna miss yer train."

"Yessir!"

 **AN: *cough**cough* Oh jeez… Guys, I think I'm going through withdrawal. I freakin' miss everyone from Class 1-A. Since I started the Internship Arc, which was like three and a half months ago… Oh dear god, I started this arc three and a half months ago and I only have three chapters to go on it… I really suck at life, don't I? Damn my weak sauce! Okay, ignoring my self-loathing until I finish this AN, this was kinda rushed just for the sake of finishing this arc off… I want to get to more awesome things in the story. You want to know how far I've planned for this fanfic? I have notes for the story up until the end of season 3 in the anime… And I'm only in the middle of Season 2 of the anime! And yes, I have the Final Exams, some filler chapters, the Training Camp and Villain Attack, and the Provisional License Exam and the aftermath… *Sigh* Bloody hell, I've got so many ideas, but I have the work pace of a hippy with a desk job… WUT?... Anyway, next chapter oughta be fun! Can't wait!... Except I got university assignments to do as well… Shit…**

 **Oh well. See you next time!**

 **-OmegaBox**


	17. The Search and Destroy Exercise

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _The Next Day_

 _U.A. High School_

 _Class 1-A_

The day was starting off beautifully. The sun was out and shining, people have a sunny expression everywhere they go, there wasn't a single disturbance by villains that day…

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HELL, BAKUGO!?"

And a certain explosive blond walked into Class 1-A sporting surprisingly tamed and groomed hair. It was so mismatched with the volatile expression that he always wore, which made it even more hilarious.

"Stop laughing…" growled a livid Katsuki. He was barely keeping his rage in check and the fact that Hanta and Eijiro were making fun of him did not help his case. "I tried to get it back to how it was before, but that jean bastard cemented it with his damn hair gel. You hear me, shitstains? I'll kill you both."

"I'd like to see you try, pretty boy!" Hanta said as he rattled the figurative cage.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" In an outburst of rage, Katsuki's hair actually reset itself to the spiky blond mess that it originally was.

"There it goes!" Hanta and Eijiro both replied in hysteria.

"Aw man," Sherry loudly said with a mock pout from the side. "And I thought that hair made you look sexy. Such a killjoy, Mr. Explody Pants."

"Piss off, you damn Air Head!" the blond roared to the other blonde. The buxom teen cutely stuck her tongue out in response, not at all affected by the violent outburst.

"So what do you think guys?" Hajikeru asked. He currently had a box of ichigo daifuku **(AN: Strawberry Daifuku)** sitting on his desk as several of his classmates and friends were munching on several of them. He was honestly surprised his desk wasn't crowded with people trying to get the sweet treat.

"Soooo yummy!" Tooru squealed in delight as one of her invisible hands held her face. It wasn't that easy to see, but she was irradiating a bit of light as she was eating the sweet confection. What better way to start the week than having one of your friends bring sweets to class?

"You got this from Fatgum at the end of your internship, Utakata?" Mezo asked through one of his mouths on his extra arms.

"Yup!" replied the bubble teen. "I also got a box of momiji manju and a box of ningyo-yaki shaped like little pigeons. They were kinda cute, actually." **(AN: I couldn't find a proper translation for them, so I'm leaving it as is.)**

"Aw… Why didn't you bring those?!" Tooru moaned in disappointment. As much she liked the mochi covered strawberries, her sweet tooth was practically demanding the pigeon-shaped, bean paste confections at her friend's mention.

"Because _I_ wanted them. That's why, Hagakure." The pink eyed teen just knew his invisible friend just stuck her tongue at him as he threw a teasing grin her direction.

"Dude, these are good," Denki said with a gleeful expression as he bit into the mochi covered strawberry. "That Fatgum guy really knows his sweets."

"Uta!" Mina called out as she shakily approached the group.

"Oh hey, Ashido. Daifuku?" asked Hajikeru as he lifted up the box of dessert. From his side, Tooru snuck another one of the treats.

"Oh yeah. Gimme!" The pink girl was about to savor the taste before she came back to Earth. "Wait, no! Quick question. When you were taught by Gun Head in that one time, did you happen to come back wanting to kick everyone's butt?"

"What are you talking about?" The large teen then noticed a similar dark aura emanating from the other side of the room from a certain bob-cut brunette. Her eyes were completely white and she was, for the lack of a better phrase, blowing out her aura from her mouth with a hollow sound. She threw a couple of punches as she answered Tsuyu when she asked how her internship went. "Oh that… That might just be Uraraka. I mean, she showed it a few weeks back before the Sports Festival, right?"

"Yeah, but now it's worse!"

"It's such a big change from a week ago," Denki said in a bit of amusement.

"Don't be fooled, Kaminari," spoke up a traumatized Minoru as he just stared at his daifuku. "All women have a terrifying nature just waiting to show itself!"

"What the hell did Mt. Lady do to you?!"

"I bet she kicked his ass when he went to grope her," Hajikeru said with an overly happy expression that did not match his statement. Unsurprisingly, that was the most accepted answer for the little teen's experience.

"Well, if you're talking about how much we've changed from our internships, it would be those guys!" Denki was referring to Izuku, Tenya, and Shoto, the three of which were hanging around the back of the classroom.

"Oh yeah!" Hanta called out as he was getting man-handled by Katsuki. "You guys encountered the Hero Killer, right?"

"When I saw the news article, I was very worried for you three," Momo said with sincerity.

"It's good that you're all in one piece!" Eijiro loudly said, also getting man-handled by the explosive blond. "It's a good thing Endeavour was there to save you guys!"

A brief moment passed before the half white, half red head replied in affirmation.

"You know, they're saying in the news that the Hero Killer has connections to the League of Villains," Mashirao spoke up with his tail on his shoulder. "I hate to think what would have happened to us if he showed up at the USJ."

Nobody really wanted a refresher on what happened on that day.

"I mean, sure he's terrifying," Denki started his counter. "But have you seen that video that's going around?"

"What video?" Several other students had a questioning look on their faces, as they also didn't know what the electric teen was talking about.

"It's about his ideals and how he talks about how society is broken. He was going on about fake Heroes and how the current system is becoming more corrupted and how he was the solution to fixing it. It's constantly being taken down and re-uploaded on VidTube **(Futuristic YouTube)**. It's actually kinda awesome."

"Kaminari!" Izuku shouted in surprise.

After a brief moment of confusion, the electric blond realized his blunder. "Oh shit… Iida, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright," Tenya calmly responded. "I'm fully aware of the Hero Killer's appeal. His conviction to his goal of creating a better society does seem to draw in people to rally behind his cause. However, his methods of accomplishing those goals should never devolve to murder. That's why… I will do everything in my power to make sure I walk the course of a true Hero!"

Hajikeru was quietly observing Tenya as he was speaking of his new conviction of Heroism. While he believed the speedy teen would no longer stray away from the path of a true Hero, his mind still went back to when he and Denryoku at least attempted to sway his mind from revenge. It really left him with a bad taste when he and the electro teen went home and again when they went to their internships for the week. They still needed to talk with him alone during lunch and it was more for Denryoku's sake than his own.

After all, they share experience with a similar dark chapter in their life now.

"Everyone settle down."

At the sound of the Erasure Hero's voice, everyone shot to their seats and gave him their attention. Not wanting a scolding from his homeroom teacher, the bubble teen quickly hid his box of daifuku in his backpack.

"2.29 seconds," the scruffy teacher said as he checked the stopwatch in his hand. "You're improving, at least. Anyway, welcome back. I'm hoping everyone at least had a taste of what this line of work has in store for you. Aside from the usual announcements, for today's Hero Studies, we will be hosting a group of students from another Hero school for the exercise. Be sure to treat them with as much respect as your own classmates. That's all. Study amongst yourselves or something. I'm taking a nap."

'Well, that hasn't changed at all.'

 _Lunchtime_

 _School Rooftop_

Denryoku was never the hostile type of person. He can come off as intimidating and 'a bit of a jerk', according to his best friend, but he was never one to tell anyone off in an aggressive manner. Many would misinterpret his deadpanned attitude as rudeness, but that was only because they didn't know about how his emotions affected his Quirk. And despite everything, he never lost his cool by letting his control slip.

The moment he, Hajikeru, and Tenya were in the open air of the school's rooftop, every semblance of his nonchalant attitude slipped off his face, turning into one of anger, and his Quirk came roaring to life. His angry eyes turned an electric green and he stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep the studs from spastically firing electrical charges everywhere.

Tenya, having grown used to Denryoku's deadpanned personality, did not expect such reaction from the dark haired teen.

"So you didn't get expelled after all," Denryoku coldly said. "I'm guessing they covered up your blunder?"

"I assumed you figured that out yourself, Emera?" Tenya asked after a heavy sigh.

"You should know how the Quirk laws work for people who take up vigilantism, Iida. And like I said when we last had a conversation like this: It wasn't that hard to put together."

"Why did you ask me to come up here? Is it to berate me for my actions?"

"Remember when I told you that you should have given up on your revenge for the Hero Killer?" Tenya nodded in reply before Denryoku continued. "I wasn't just saying that just because I thought it was wrong. I said it because I personally know how much revenge can corrupt a person. And before you ask why I didn't lead with that last time we had this conversation, it was because I had a very strong feeling that you wouldn't listen. As blind and emotional I was when I had my moment, I could only imagine how unstable your mind must have been at that moment."

"What do you mean, Emera?"

"What exactly did you feel when you were facing down Stain? Rage? Hatred? Or were you so blind that you couldn't recall the feeling? And what about after he was taken in? From the little information I got when I showed up with Edgeshot, you looked pretty regretful. I could only assume it was because Midoriya and Todoroki got hurt for your sake."

At that, Tenya looked remorseful. He never intended anyone else to get hurt and was willing to destroy his body for his goal, but he didn't seem to have that privilege when he received reinforcements in the form of Izuku and Shoto. But he did and as a result, all three of them were injured because of his actions.

"Honestly, you got off pretty well. Your incident was covered up, yours, Midoriya's, and Todoroki's injuries weren't life threatening, and more importantly, you're brother is still around! I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW YOU'RE FEELING RIGHT NOW!"

Unbeknownst to him, as Denryoku was speaking, his voice was slowly breaking as he went on and some tears were gathering at the ends of his eyes. He could have gone on, but he was stopped by Hajikeru when the larger teen placed his large hand on his shoulder in comfort. The coal grey-haired teen didn't turn away at the action, but his shallow breathing didn't stop.

"Are you alright, Emera?" Tenya asked in concern.

"Iida," Hajikeru spoke for the first time since they arrived. He had an equally sad look in his eyes as locked his own with Tenya's. There was a brief moment where it looked like he was pondering what he should say. He seemed almost lost in what he should say, but he seemed to settle down before speaking again. "Have you heard of the Pro Hero named Emerald Thunder?" Tenya shook his head. "He was Denryo's dad and by extension my surrogate uncle.

"I'll try to keep it short so we're not up here all period, but just bear with me on this. He passed away a few years ago when a villain attacked a train full of people. He… was taken down by another villain after the first one was captured… That guy was caught too, but…"

Tenya could very much hear the heartache as his bubble blowing friend spoke of his deceased pseudo uncle. It was the almost the same as when he was speaking to his older brother in the hospital when he was still hooked up to all of those machines. He felt so helpless, and he was sure the same or a similar feeling was there in both Hajikeru's and Denryoku's minds.

"When we got the news, we just… broke. But Denryo was the one who got it worst…" The pink eyed teen could feel his best friend tense up at the memory. When asked if he should stop, the electro teen shook his head, indicating his best friend to continue. "At the time, we were getting along better, to the point where I could call him my closest friend. But after that, he became more distant, more cold towards everyone. After what happened to Uncle Rakurai, he believed all villains needed to be taken out of the world… permanently."

Tenya could almost immediately tell where this story was going at hearing the need for revenge, but at a more drastic scale. "So did that mean—?"

"During that time, he put more focus on his Quirk training, but he trained it to be more lethal." The speedy teen's blood ran cold at hearing that. "It was only a week that you were angry at the Hero Killer, but Denryo had that mindset for over a month. He pushed everyone in his life away, just so he can prove he can change the world by..."

Hajikeru didn't need to finish that sentence because the implication was all Tenya needed to understand what was going through Denryoku's younger mind.

"One day, I was following him some distance away, since he pretty much forced me to go home. There was a small time villain that stole a woman's purse. Denryo went to confront him and get it back, and probably paralyze him for life if I didn't step in. There was a scuffle over me blocking him from making a mistake and the villain trying to escape…" Hajikeru seemed very hesitant to continue any further, but forced himself to finish the event, however short he wanted it to be. "In the end, the villain escaped, Denryo was okay… but I got hurt when I got in his way."

"He took a hit meant for me… and he ended up with a crack on his skull."

The words Denryoku said had struck Tenya solid. He had a feeling the story was going to take a dark turn, otherwise the talk would have no point, but it still shocked him to the core to know what transpired.

"In the end, the villain got away, I was mentally broken for the second time in a month's time, and I almost lost my best friend to my hatred and anger." The dark haired teen spoke with remorse in his voice as he recalled his emotions at the time. "I was completely committed to this twisted sense of justice of preventing crime before it starts, but I didn't think anyone I cared about would get hurt because of my actions. It's a shame that I'm stuck with for the rest of my life."

Denryoku's voice leveled out and his eyes returned to their initial dark grey color, though some moisture lingered. "Now that you understand where I come from, I want you to do me a favor."

"What would that be, Emera?" Tenya asked in confusion. This entire conversation was an emotional rollercoaster for him, but it really opened his eyes just a bit more on what he tried to do.

"To put it simply; when you're feeling oppressed by your emotions, talk to someone who would lend you an ear. Just promise us this, and we won't mention this to anyone."

Tenya thought back to when Izuku and Ochako had asked him about how he was feeling before they went to their internships. He remembered how he outright lied to their faces with that fake smile of his and how he betrayed their trust in him as their friend. Granted he still didn't see them as his best friends, since they only knew each other for a little over a month, but they were the closest friends he's had in a long time. It wasn't fair to them.

"I will… Thanks, Emera. Utakata."

Seeing it was almost time for the first bell, Tenya went to leave for Class 1-A, since he prefers to leave early. This left Hajikeru and Denryoku alone on the rooftop.

"You alright?" the larger teen asked.

Denryoku sighed heavily before he answered the question. "Yeah… I'll be fine, Haji… I'll be fine." There was a brief pause before he continued. "It's not getting any easier to talk about it, is it?"

"No, it's not. But from our lowest points, we can only grow from it. Just remember that, Denryo."

"Yeah… I know that, Haji. And thanks for putting up with me for all these years."

"Hey, you're not getting rid of me yet! We still got a career of Pro Heroes to get through before you start seeing less of me!"

A subtle smile made its way on the electro teen's face before he answered him. "Sure. Whatever you say, brother."

 _Class 1-A_

 _Heroics Studies_

As the Class 1-A students were waiting for their homeroom teacher to show up; a certain Bubble Quirk user could be seen pouting at his desk.

"Aw c'mon, Utataka! You can't be that mad at me for eating the rest of your daifuku, can you?"

Tooru had swiped the rest of the pink eyed teen's sweet treats during lunch period when no one was present in the classroom and ate them in the cafeteria in front of many witnesses.

"You know if you were that mad about me not bringing the other desserts I have at home, you could have said something, Hagakure," Hajikeru said in a voice as hollow as his sweets deprived stomach. He had only had two that morning and was planning on getting at least some before Heroics Studies started, but that was not to be.

"They were pretty tasty, so I get why she stole them," Kyoka said as absentmindedly twirled her earphone jack.

"KYOKA!"

"What? That's what you told us that when you came by with that box of strawberries."

"They're called daifuku! And you're making me sound like terrible person when you say it like that."

"You don't get between a man and his sweets, Hagakure. That's a universal law," Hajikeru said, causing some of his classmates to snicker and Tooru to dip her head in shame.

"Alright, everyone settle down," Shota called out as he and several other students entered the classroom. From the different color palette and style on their uniforms, it was safe to say they were from another school. "Like I said this morning, these students from Isami High will be joining us for today's Heroics Studies. Treat them like you would treat your own classmates."

The boy that was closest to the scruffy homeroom teacher was short and stout in stature. He had brown, almost orange, hair styled into a cow lick and his facial features were very simple, consisting of black, beady eyes and a small nose. And much like Hajikeru, his forearms and hands looked larger in comparison to his upper arms.

The boy next to him had a snarky and irritated face with grey hair that cover his forehead, but was parted over his left eye. He was very much giving everyone the stink eye from how he was glaring at everyone in Class 1-A.

The girl next to him had silky white hair that reached just below her shoulders and glasses over her stormy grey eyes. She held herself with regality and eloquence, much like Momo, and she seemed very respectable from how she addressed the class.

"It is very nice to meet you all," she said. "Isami High is proud to be a part of U.A.'s Heroics course for the day. My name is Kashiko Sekigai."

"From the same class, I'm Dadan Tadan," said the shorter boy, who was nervously wiping sweat on his face with a handkerchief.

The other teen was simply glaring at the class before speaking his name, which was 'Romero Fujimi'. He then locked eyes with Katsuki, to which the explosive blond did not take lightly.

"C'mon now, introduce yourself," Kashiko insisted to the figure hiding behind her.

At her classmate's request, the mysterious figure behind the glasses wearing girl showed herself to the students. Her hair was wild and red as a setting sun and her eyes were as yellow as dandelions in the spring. She was a complete marvel to look at…

If her literal snake head didn't make her look too intimidating to even approach.

To one certain frog girl, however, it was a happy surprise to see her old friend here today.

"Habuko!"

"Tsu!"

The two old friends were locked in an embrace, having not seen each other since they had started going to different Hero schools.

"So that's Tsu's friend?" Ochako asked with a curious tone.

"If she is, Tsu's got some weird friends," Sherry said in response. "Then again, she's friends with all of us, so…"

"I feel like that shouldn't happen in nature, but it did," Hajikeru spoke in morbid confusion.

"Yeah, a snake girl being friends with a frog girl without the frog girl being eaten? That is one of the weirdest sights I've seen in my life!" Denki whispered back.

"Mongoose!" called out Romero. "What the hell are you doing getting cozy with these U.A. elitists? They're not worth the time."

"You want to say that to my face, dipshit?! Don't look down on me!" Katsuki all but shouted at the grey haired teen.

"Kacchan, don't antagonize them," Izuku nervously said from behind the blond.

"SHUT UP, YOU SHITNERD!"

"Why don't you shut up first, Bakugo?" Shota said. Several 'ooooooo's were muttered by the rest of Class 1-A at the burn delivered via back sass by the Erasure Hero.

"HAHAHA! You just got back sassed, Baku-boy!" Sherry shouted in hysterics, slamming her fist into her desk while her fellow blond growled in lividness.

"Save that energy for the exercise, would you? Now then, get dressed and meet up at Training Ground EPSILON."

 _Later_

 _Training Ground EPSILON_

Better known as the 'Lost Woods', Training Ground EPSILON is specially crafted for doing Hero work in a dense, forest environment. Trees blanket a majority of the grounds with very few notable landmarks standing out. Such landmarks include a rocky mesa with a cave and an open area with a stream passing through the middle. It's a very serene training ground to relax in if no such thing goes on. Today, however, it was going to be a battleground for the young Heroes in training.

The Isami students had their own Hero costumes to use for the exercise. Kashiko was wearing a black and white, skintight bodysuit with red gloves and a red visor. On her arms were two high tech gauntlets, with the right one being half the length of the left one. The top of her white heels had an extended V-shape that pointed outward, for cosmetic reasons.

Romero's Hero outfit consisted of a black and red trench coat with various red tubes coming out of his torso in into the cuffs of his coat where two little devices rest on each arm. The bottom half of his face was covered by a transparent mask, which assumedly helps him breathe.

Habuko, much like her female classmate, was also wearing a skintight suit, but hers was almost entirely blue with darker patches peppered about and the portions from her navel to her breasts were a much lighter shade of blue. Over her eyes were two pieces of brown tinted lenses.

Dadan's Hero costume is just a straight up mech suit. The top half of it was yellow with two 'antennae', booster rockets at the back, a porthole with his face popping through, and two smaller holes under his face, one on each side. His elbows also have booster ports coming out of them. The middle portion was green with four holes, two on each side. And the bottom portion was blue with more booster ports on the back. In all honesty, he was the talk of many of the 1-A guys over how cool he looked in a mech suit. Though some of them just passed it off like it wasn't anything special.

"I AM…" shouted a majestic voice from up high. Almost immediately after, All Might came crashing into the ground feet first, landing like a Pro and posing like one. "…MAKING A DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!"

"Holy crap, it's All Might!" Romero spoke in amazement.

"He's so much taller in person!" Kashiko said in astonishment.

"Awesome!" Habuko shouted with more energy.

"Welcome back, my young students and visiting students," the blonde Adonis addressed to those present. "I hope you have been keeping on your toes this past week, because it's time to get back into Hero Training!"

"Today you'll all be pitted together in teams of four or five. We've randomly selected you ahead of time, so you won't be choosing who you will be working with. In the forest, we've assigned two teams to guard a package, and the rest of you are tasked with retrieving one of the two. The attacking teams are allowed to incapacitate other attacking teams in order to lower the competition. The defending teams are free to do what they want with their package, so long as it's visible within the assigned area. One more thing. If an attacker takes hold of the package, but is still within the defender's area, it does not count as a win for your team. You'll have to get out of the area and be absolutely certain no one is pursuing you. The ones with a package in their possession by the end of the given time will win."

"Well said, Eraserhead! Now for the teams!"

 **Team A: Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka, Mina Ashido, Tsuyu Asui**

 **Team B: Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, Mezo Shouji, Yuga Aoyama**

 **Team C: Shoto Todoroki, Tooru Hagakure, Koji Koda, Mashirao Ojiro**

 **Team D: Tenya Iida, Fumikage Tokoyami, Rikido Satou, Hanta Sero, Sherry Teikiatsu**

 **Team E: Momo Yaoyorozu, Hajikeru Utakata, Minoru Mineta, Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jirou**

 **Team F: Kashiko Sekigai, Dadan Tadan, Romero Fujimi, Habuko Mongoose**

"Midoriya, you bastard!" Minoru shouted in despair, successfully gaining everyone's attention. "Why do you get the harem of sexy foxes!?"

"WH-WHAT?!" replied said green haired teen, heavily blushing at the implication. Mina and Tsuyu were completely unfazed, while Ochako was genuinely confused by what he just said. She's never heard of the word until now, though now she was curious.

Almost immediately after, the little grape pervert was zapped by Kyoka's earphone jack, sending him into the land of unconsciousness.

"You're embarrassing us, you little creep," the purple haired rocker muttered.

"Team C, Team E, you'll be defending," Shota said to the two teams. "Get to your assigned locations and make preparations for the attackers."

 _Several Minutes Later_

"Of all the locations Aizawa-sensei had to give us, it had to be the one that stuck out the most," Denki spoke with a disappointed tone. His team was on the mesa and cave location and he was staring at the flag that was firmly planted in the earth. The flag itself was a white color with a cartoon Principal Nezu as the symbol. "'Hey guys, where do you think one of the flags are?' 'Gee, I dunno. Maybe it's at that that big, noticeable piece of rock in the middle of the forest.' 'Hey, look at that. It _is_ at that big noticeable hunk of rock. Who would've thought, huh?' They couldn't of made this place more hidden? Or at least let us hide the flag in the cave?"

"Can you shut it, Jamming-Whey?" Kyoka said in an irritated tone. "Utakata and Yaomomo are trying to make a plan."

"Wait, Utakata's helping Yaoyorozu? No offense to him, but he doesn't seem like the smart kind of guy."

"I don't have to be smart to make a plan, Kaminari. I just have to be clever," Hajikeru spoke without looking back at the electric blond. "Also, I can hear you!"

"I bet he's getting an eyeful of Yaoyorozu's cleavage," Minoru muttered as his eyes were twitching uncontrollably. "Maybe that's why he volunteered to help her with the planning."

"They're sitting side by side, idiot," spoke Kyoka, hating the fact that she was 'babysitting' the other two members of their team. She couldn't really zap them if they stepped out of line since she had both of her jacks planted in the ground. The exercise hadn't started yet and they weren't given a signal when the exercise officially began, so she's putting her reconnaissance training to use. She was able to 'hear' at a greater distance when she used both jacks as opposed to just one. "And besides, if Utakata was a damn pervert like the two of you, he would have shown it by now."

"Maybe he's a closet pervert. That would explain why he and Shouji hang around Hagakure and Ashido most of the time. I bet he's sneaking glances while they're talking right now."

 _With Momo and Hajikeru_

"So Mineta can lay down his balls around the cliff to keep anyone from actually climbing the mountain," Hajikeru said as he was staring at the dirt in front of him in a thinking pose. One of his arms was crossed under his chest while his gloved hand on the opposite arm was holding his chin. "It's not a proper first line of defense, but it will keep anyone from simply climbing up here."

"Jiro will be running reconnaissance the entire time, so we'll know if anyone is approaching and prepare accordingly," Momo added, imitating the pink eyed teen in body posture.

"Kaminari could be the last defense if we get breached."

A look of confusion appeared on Momo's face at the suggestion. "Kaminari? Wouldn't his Quirk be detrimental to everyone here?"

"Not if his lightning is attracted to a superconductive metal on the flag."

"Hm… That is a good point."

"As for the second line of defense, it looks like we're gonna have to be it."

"Actually, I think I have an idea to expand your role, Utakata."

Hajikeru raised an eyebrow at the hint, interested in what the regal girl had planned for him. "I'm listening."

"You can create bubbles that explode when you apply pressure to them, right? Not the ones that explode on contact with a surface or shortly after being created."

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I have an idea on how they can be used for longer ranged capabilities."

As Momo explained what she had planned for his Quirk's use, Hajikeru's eyes continued to grow in excitement. The mental image he created from her description was something out of a fantasy. It wasn't anything lavish or complicated, but as someone that extensively played video games for most of his entire life it was a dream come true.

"Would your Quirk work with these dimensions?" asked Momo, completely unaware of the glossy look on the bubble teen's face.

"Can it be adapted for different bubble sizes? And can it come in blue?" He asked in a semi-steady voice, struggling to keep his composure.

"For what I have planned for it, no. Your bubble's diameter will have to be around 13 centimeters for it to work properly. And may I ask why you would need it colored?"

"N-No reason. Forget it. It's fine." Snapping out of his hazy feeling, Hajikeru at least had the decency to feel embarrassed for asking a useless question. His first question was understandable, as it could lead to different uses if he can keep it. The second one, though, was just him acting impulsively over something pointless and now he was uncomfortable. His reddening face was proof of that.

"Alright, I'll get started on your and Kaminari's tools in a bit. You can start by guiding Mineta around the cliff with this." The dark haired girl presented the bubble teen with a fishing pole that she quickly made from her forearm, though it was lacking a hook.

"Got it." He was still fanning himself from the embarrassing request as he approached Minoru and Denki with the fishing pole. And from his current appearance, it was clear that they got the wrong idea.

"Utakata, you bastard!" Minoru shouted in despair for the second time that day. "You weren't planning with her at all, were you!? You were too busy staring at the voluptuous mountains to focus, weren't you! Admit it!"

"I swear to everything holy in my dad's music collection, if you don't shut up for the rest of the exercise, I will liquefy your—" Kyoka's threat was cut off before she could finish it by the bubble teen.

"Yes, that's what I was doing," he said in a deadpanned voice, his face matching that of his best friend. "And I will tell you all about it if you cover the cliff with your balls. I'll be guiding you with this fishing pole."

"DEAL!"

The little pervert quickly tied the end of the fishing net to his torso and dived off the cliff with Hajikeru fiddling with the line. It took some getting used to with shifting his feet and lowering and raising the line, but it was easy as breathing after a little while. All the while, Denki was looking on with a proud grin and Kyoka was absolutely fuming at hearing what he had said.

It took some time for the cliffside to be properly peppered with Minoru's balls but since Kyoka didn't pick up any vibrations the whole time, it was assumed that the exercise hadn't started yet. Either that or no one suspected the flag was at the obvious rock in the middle of the forest. Oddly enough, when Hajikeru gave the all clear for coverage, the little grape teen didn't wait to be reeled in. He quickly scaled the cliff using his balls as leverage and was in front of Hajikeru in no time at all.

"So, c'mon! What were they like?! You got an eyeful of them, right?!" Minoru was drooling an unhealthy amount of saliva in anticipation of what the much larger teen would say. Denki, while not as open as his partner in crime, was also very curious about getting a vivid description of Momo's… figure. Kyoka, meanwhile, was preparing to strike Hajikeru with one of her earphone jacks at the first mention of her friend's bosom. It was hard enough to deal with two perverts, but three was going to be a nightmare for her.

"Yeah, guess what, Mineta," gleefully replied Hajikeru.

"What?"

"I lied to get you to do your role in the plan without resistance. Sorry!" His apology did not match his happy expression at all.

Minoru felt betrayed, Denki was let down, and Kyoka went back to her role in the plan, though she was visibly relieved to hear it was a… logical ruse. Around the same time, the Erasure Hero squeezed.

"I can't believe you played me like that! You know how much I wanted to admire them and squee—" A shriek from the little pervert could be heard throughout the training grounds as his head was pierced by the rocker girl's earphone jack.

"We're not going to need him anymore, right?" Kyoka asked her team members.

"Well, we might need him for capturing," Hajikeru replied. "But if he's not conscious by the time someone comes by, I'm sure Yaoyorozu can make something for that."

"Um… what am I doing for the… um… plan…" Denki couldn't take his eyes off his friend's unconscious form. Sure he's seen it several times before, but it was still disturbing to watch. On top of that, because Minoru had overused his Quirk in all his enthusiasm, there was a copious amount of blood dripping from his scalp. It made the simple act of knocking out the little pervert appear as if it were a murder scene.

"You're the last line of defense, Kaminari," said Momo as she came by, dusting her hands off in a job well done. Behind her, several thick, metal plates with rounded protrusions were covering the flag pole and numerous patches of dirt appeared to be freshly dug up. The rest of her teammates can only assume she planted landmines around the flags. "The flag pole is covered in superconductive metal plates, so all you have to do is use your Quirk in the flag's general direction in the event it gets captured."

"Huh… That kinda reminds me of my fight with Emera, for some reason."

"If you can even call it a fight," Kyoka muttered, though not low enough to keep Denki from hearing it. All of a sudden, her earphone jacks picked up several loud explosions some distance away. "Guys, we've got company! Probably Bakugo."

"Utakata!" Momo called out as she threw Hajikeru a tubular weapon with a large conical rear port and a hatch that went over said porthole.

The weapon was similar in appearance of an ancient anti-tank ordinance launcher from the old world wars from centuries ago, only without the explosive head sticking out of the front. Behind the trigger and handle was a magazine that contained several grenade-shaped rounds colored a bright orange color.

"One round is already loaded in the chamber. All you have to do is load one of your bubbles into the rear port, buckle the hatch down, and pull the trigger. It will cover anything it impacts in a sticky substance that should hinder their movements. And since Bakugo is approaching, it would be a great benefit for us."

It was a thing of beauty, but the pink-eyed teen didn't have time to admire it. Judging from the size of the rear port hole, a Grapefruit-Type Proximity Bubble should suffice. Though, he should only make it just enough to last 10 or 15 seconds without exploding while touching a surface. With the bubble loaded up, Hajikeru was ready to let the weapon do its thing.

"Call it out, Jiro!" he loudly said.

"South by Southeast! 84 meters and closing in!"

"I see him. Firing!"

Hearing what sounded like a rocket launcher going off took Katsuki by surprise, even more so when he spotted a high speed projectile approaching his position. He quickly dodged into the bushes and the projectile splattered in an explosion of neon orange goop. Some of it landed on his gauntlet and after feeling its texture, he concluded it's better if he didn't get hit by it directly.

"That's gotta be Ponytail's work," he muttered in disgust when he tried to wipe the tough, sticky substance on his pants. "And that must also mean Earlobes is listening for my location." A sinister grin made its way onto the explosive blond's face, a clear sign that he had an idea. "Try listening to this, dumbass!" He then fired his explosions directly into the ground, effectively destroying it and Kyoka's hearing.

 _Slightly Earlier_

"Damn it! He dodged it!" Hajikeru swore as he loaded another projectile and Proximity Bubble into the chamber.

"Fire in the foliage in that same location! He's still there!" Kyoka replied in haste. "He's muttering something but I can't hear him too well. Wait… Try listening to what?"

Those were Kyoka's last words before she began screaming bloody murder over the loss of her hearing. After a few seconds of screaming, she fell unconscious holding her ears in pain.

"Jiro!" her teammates all shouted at once. They didn't get a chance to help her as Katsuki came blasting up the mountain.

"Surprise, fuckers!" he shouted.

Ditching the launcher by chucking it in Denki's direction, Hajikeru quickly made and fired off a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble to blow him away from the flag. The blond simply countered with an explosion, but it wasn't strong enough to counter completely as he was flying backwards a bit.

Away from the action Momo was hiding by the cave entrance as she was slowly making special ammunition for the net gun in her hands, waiting for an opportunity to trap the explosive blond. Staying close to the fighting wasn't going to benefit her at all, so she made herself scarce as soon as the explosive blond was approaching. She thought about using flashbang grenades to disorient her team's attacker, but that would also disorient her teammates.

Meanwhile, Denki had his fists up in a fighting position in case Katsuki came his way, ready to defend Minoru and Kyoka.

With a roar, Katsuki went to attack Hajikeru with another explosion. His target countered by creating a larger bubble, a Watermelon-Type, but this one didn't explode when the attacked impacted. Rather this bubble absorbed the explosion and popped, which gave Hajikeru an opportunity to attack the angry blond. He threw a punch towards Katsuki, but as he expected the blond used an explosion to blast himself over his head. Hajikeru then surprised the blond by exploding a Pressure Bubble below his center of mass, launching him upwards towards Katsuki before the explosive blond had a chance to attack again. He then delivered a hammer strike towards Katsuki's ribs, but his target had blocked it with his gauntlet.

Seeing an opportunity, he grabbed onto the grenade shaped gauntlets with his large hands and went to throw him into the ground with a combat toss.

"Like I'm gonna let that happen again, Pink Eye!" Katsuki shouted as he let loose a torrent of explosions into the ground beneath him. Along with the hail of multiple explosions, he managed to launch not only himself into the air, but also Hajikeru was being taken with him. "Let's see how you like it!" With a mighty toss, Katsuki threw the bubble teen into the ground in a combat toss of his own. Hajikeru grunted in pain as he heavily impacted the ground beneath him.

At that moment, Momo took a chance and fired the net gun at Katsuki. Hearing the weapon go off, the explosive blond went to dodge but found himself unable to move his legs due to two large hands holding him in place by the ankles. The combat toss definitely hurt Hajikeru, but his glossy chest piece managed to absorb most of the impact. Seeing the snarky face on the bubble teen, he blasted him with a torrent of explosions to the face to get him to let go. His grip didn't lax in the slightest and Katsuki found himself trapped in a net shortly after.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted in pure anger as he struggled against the surprisingly durable net. Even using his explosions didn't do much to it. He can blow up rocks with his Quirk, so why is it having minimal effect on the net?

Unbeknownst to him, Momo had created a net made out of fragmented steel wire coated lightly with kevlar. One of the beauties of her Quirk was that it allowed her to create anything so long as she understood the molecular structure and she had sufficient lipids to do it. That included combining and applying substances that would normally be very difficult to create by normal means.

Katuski didn't have time to figure out the reason behind his subsequent capture as he was suddenly lifted up by Hajikeru via the net. His face was still smoking and his visor was cracked from the multitude of explosions to the face, but he was still powering through the pain as he lifted Katsuki in an overhand throw. Still struggling with the net, Katsuki tried larger and larger explosions to break it, but it had no effect. The bubble teen quickly created two Proximity Landmine Bubbles next to one another and in front of the actual buried landmine. Once the bubbles plopped onto the earthy floor, he swung his captive into the bubble, successfully detonating it and the landmine at the same time in an explosion of pink dust. As he swung, the bubble teen also hit the deck to avoid flying off the rock structure.

As he was flying through the air, Katsuki can only cuss out both Hajikeru and Momo for his demise.

As the pink dust settled, Denki and Momo were the first to recover from the bigger than expected explosion. The blond had thrown himself over Kyoka's body to keep her from being tossed away and Momo braced herself from inside the cave at seeing what the bubble teen was doing. The landmines were meant to be a third line of defense in case anyone got passed either her or Hajikeru. She didn't expect it to be _that_ effective enough to send someone into the distance. Then again, two of Hajikeru's Landmine Bubbles was included there, so…

Either way, she couldn't complain about the results.

 _Meanwhile_

 _Another part of the 'Lost Woods'_

Sherry was playing recon as she was perched on top of one of the taller trees looking for other teams to take down. She and her team had just taken down Team B with the sole exception of Katsuki, since he went off on his own, so she was looking for more victims to take down before moving on to find one of the packages.

Off in the distance, she spotted a large explosion of pink at the mesa location, followed by a projectile covered by a net. Seeing as it was coming towards her, her first instinct was to jump out of the way. However, after seeing the head of blond on the projectile, she decided slowing it down and catching him was the best choice.

"Typhoon Cannon: Category 2!" she called out as she stretched her arms forward for her attack. The roaring gust of wind managed to slow the angry blond down enough for her to catch him. To add insult to Katsuki's injured pride, Sherry caught him bridal style.

"Well, look at what we have here," Sherry happily spoke to the growling Katsuki. "It must be Christmas because a sexy blond just dropped out of the sky! And here I was expecting a new blouse."

"Shut the fuck up and let me out of here, Air Head!" roared the livid blond as he squirmed in the net.

"Aw, but Baku-Boy, you're just so cuddly! And if I let you out, you'll just ruin this moment by blowing me up."

"That's what I'm gonna do if you keep this bullshit up! Now. LET. ME. OUT!"

"Okay, okay. Jeez, someone's pissy today."

Sherry landed on the ground and was quick to let Katsuki out of the net with some effort. Since he was struggling so much, some of the net's weighed ends were in between some of the gaps. At the very least, it wasn't made of a softer material, making it easy to untangle.

Almost immediately after being freed, the explosive teen fired off an explosion in Sherry's direction. At the same time, the sandy blonde fired off a Gust Shot at Katsuki to counter the explosion.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, Mr. Explody Pants," Sherry said with an edge to her voice as the smoke cleared.

"Shut up and get out of my way, Air Head," replied Katsuki with a growl. "I've got a bone to pick with Pink Eye and Ponytail right now and I don't need any more bullshit to deal with."

"Yeah, I figured Yaomomo had something to do with that net. But Utakata sent you flying? That must've been amazing to watch!" Sherry received an explosion as a response, which she easily dodged. "Still, since you're on another team, I can't have you running around without a leash. So, I'm gonna have to kick your ass before I move along with my team!"

"In your goddamn dreams."

Sherry had a determined grin on her face as the two began to clash, explosions and wind bellows echoing throughout the forest.

A short distance away, Sherry's teammates were contemplating whether to help their sole female teammate or not.

"Should… should we help her?" Hanta questioned in a nervous voice. At the same time, a howl of wind cut through the air.

"I would be relatively helpless against someone like Bakugo, so I would suggest letting Teikiatsu handle this," Fumikage answered, Dark Shadow hissing in anger at the flash of light.

"What is the matter with you two?!" Tenya half shouted. It should be noted that due to the encounter with the Hero Killer, his Hero outfit is currently being repaired by the Support Department. So for the next few days, he's wearing his gym clothes as a substitute Hero outfit. "As Teikiatsu's teammates, we must do everything in our power to assist her in her battle. This is a team exercise after all!"

At that moment, a strong gust of heated air washed over the team of four, almost like an invitation to jump into the fray.

"I don't know, Iida," Rikido spoke as a bead of sweat fell made its ways down his temple. "Do you really want to get in between _that_?" To emphasize the sugar teen's point; Katsuki launched a powerful explosion in Sherry's direction after she was launched from their initial location. After that, he blasted himself in her direction in pursuit.

"I… see your point. Very well! We shall proceed with our plan while Teikiatsu keeps Bakugo distracted!"

"Sounds good to me," Hanta said with relief.

"Alright!" excitedly shouted Denki. "Way to send Bakugo packing, Utakata!"

The bubble teen let out a groan in pain as he removed the broken visor and dropped it on the floor without much thought. The main function of his visor was mainly to protect his eyes against wind when he uses his Quirk for maneuverability and when he detonates a Pressure Bubble up close. It was more useful than closing his eyes whenever he did that. With the safety shatter feature in place, meaning it simply spider-cracked the impact zone instead of shattering inward, it meant the goggles were pretty much useless since he can't see through them.

"Well, I'm still conscious. So that counts for something," Hajikeru muttered in a dry voice as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ears and the massive headache beginning to form. If it was anything like what happened in the Sports Festival, he wouldn't be surprised if he had a concussion. His dark blue hair was more frazzled than usual, almost giving him a 'mad scientist' look and his face was covered in soot and ash from the explosive blond's explosion barrage. Funnily enough, the portions of his face that the explosions didn't touch made the area around his eyes look like a domino mask. That got a good laugh out of Denki when he saw that.

"Are you alright?" Momo asked as she patted dust off her leotard and skirt.

"Yeah*cough* *cough*… yeah, I'll be fine, Yaoyorozu. *Ack* I just need a minute. Ow…" The bubble teen unceremoniously dropped his large body on a spot close to where Kyoka was laying face up as he held his head in pain. He would have chuckled at Kyoka's appearance if: 1: he didn't witness what caused her to lose consciousness, 2: if the simple act didn't rattle his head more than it already was, and 3: if said simple act also didn't lead to a coughing fit from how dry his mouth and throat were. Creating two Watermelon 2 Proximity Bubbles almost completely dried him out, and now he couldn't use his Quirk for anything during the 'replenishing period'.

"Okay, just take as much rest as you need. Kaminari and I can handle things until you're back to capacity."

"Yeah, dude!" Denki said as he held a thumb up. "You're basically MVP after you sent Bakugo to wherever the hell else is over there, so take it easy. We got this!"

"I just need a minute," Hajikeru tiredly replied before going into a coughing fit. "It'll take more than that to put me out of the game." It was then he noticed something was missing on the mesa. "Hey, *eck* that reminds me. Where's Mineta?"

Both Momo's and Denki's eyes grew wide when they realized Minoru wasn't on the rock structure with them.

"Oh crap! I forgot to hold him down!" Denki exclaimed in shock. The electric blond had been closest to the little grape teen, but he completely forgot to hold him down before the explosion happened. He had instinctively thrown himself over Kyoka, but unintentionally left the little grape teen to unknown circumstances.

 _Team F_

The group from Isami High didn't really know what to expect when they were invited to U.A. for a training exercise with the first year Heroics students. They did expect to see All Might somewhere on the campus and hoped to spot a look of the Number 1 Hero, but they didn't expect him to be in charge of the class. They expected the U.A. students to be exceptional in some way and so far, most have been nothing but that. They also expected to meet several other Heroes that they typically saw on television in person and that had been somewhat of a letdown since they only arrived 20 minutes before the Heroics class started. At least it was somewhat reasonable.

What they didn't expect was one of the students, more specifically the little perverted one, crashing into the ground in front of them as Kashiko was using her Quirk to survey the surrounding area for potential targets.

What made it worse was the fact that he appeared dead. Not actually dead, but uncomfortably dead. His eyes were rolled up into his head and he had blood dripping from his scalp. It was very freaky for all of them, save for Romero. He honestly thought it looked cool.

They didn't really delve on to for too long as Kashiko had picked up two signatures not too far from their location.

As a response, Dadan used his Quirk to fire off a barrage of missiles to the two targets, who were revealed to be Sherry and Katsuki when they dashed out of the forest and away from the hail of explosives. Both looked noticeably ragged from their fight, which, to the pale blond's chagrin, had been going on for much longer compared to the first fight they had.

"Who's the dead motherfucker trying to copy my shit!?" Katsuki roared in anger. It really wasn't a good day for him. First he gets called out by his homeroom teacher, then he gets sent skyward by Hajikeru after Momo entrapped him, then his fight with Sherry is dragged on for much longer than wanted, and now someone was trying to incapacitate him using a bunch of explosions. Two of them were humiliating, one was irritating, though there was some semblance of excitement there (not that he would actually admit it), and the last one was just insulting.

Dadan had flinched hard at the threat and it wasn't helped by what Sherry said next.

"I'd run if I were you, Robot guy!" she called out as she was dusting off her bodysuit. "Baku-Boy doesn't like it when you interrupt him like you did just now!"

"I'll kill all of you Isami-shitstains!"

"See?"

As Katuki lunged at Dadan with a sparking palm, he was intercepted by Romero, using his arm to block the incoming hand and redirecting it to the side. Soon after, a pink smoke came out of the nozzles on his arm and quickly engulfed everyone present, including the two U.A. students.

"Hope you enjoy being an undead moron, elitist trash," Romero said to Katsuki as he bolted from the coughing forms of the students.

 _Team E_

After Hajikeru managed to calm down Denki, by reminding him how Minoru managed to survive a straight up kick from Sherry, one hard enough to send him down around 200 meters of school hallway and hit the nook between the wall and ceiling, the two intact teammates were at the defensive in case any other teams came by. Well… at least Momo was. Denki was trying to look busy by looking around with his hand over his forehead.

It was then something caught Momo's eye through the spyglass she recently made.

"Hm? What is that?" she asked in confusion.

"You see something, Yaoyorozu?" Hajikeru asked before clearing his throat, which only led into another coughing fit.

"There's pink smoke coming from the southwest and spreading around rather quickly."

"What kind of smoke is it?" Denki asked in a curious tone.

"What kind of question is that, Kaminari?" the bubble teen asked with a bit of bite.

"I mean, is it knockout gas? Itching gas? Maybe gas that makes you 'roid out like Satou?"

An awkward pause occurred between the three present teammates until it was broken by Hajikeru.

"You know, you may have a point. Can you see anything, Yaoyorozu?"

"Aside from the large ice formation made by Todoroki in the distance, there's nothing of note," the regal simply replied. With the smoke dissipating below the tree line, Momo decided to collapse her spyglass. "Whatever it was, it's best we are prepared for an attack."

"I'm almost good to go," Hajikeru said. "Just give me another minute or so."

Out of nowhere, the three teammates heard screaming from a distance away. They didn't know what to expect now that Kyoka wasn't running reconnaissance, so the three got into the defensive in their own way. Momo readied a bo staff, since she was running low on lipids and she needed a weapon, Denki was tossing one of the conductive, metal plates from the flag pole in his hand, and Hajikeru picked up the rocket launcher he dropped earlier.

It was then they heard a familiar voice from below the rock structure.

"Todoroki! Get us up there!"

"Wait, was that Midoriya?" Hajikeru asked. After receiving a shrug from Denki, he popped his head over the edge of the cliff, only for his face to almost get caved in by a quick-growing iceberg. "Hey! What the hell, Todoroki!? And… Uraraka? Midoriya? What are you guys doing here?"

"No time! Just get in the cave!" Ochako shouted in urgency.

Seeing that the brunette meant business with her panicking voice, the team of three bolted to the cave, with Hajikeru picking up Kyoka and holding her under his arm. Oddly enough, Denki also picked up the flag before he ran. Once everyone was inside the cave, Shoto used his Quirk to create a wall of ice, sealing off the cave.

"Okay, we listened to you and now we're in the cave," Hajikeru spoke as he propped the unconscious girl against the cave wall. "What's going on out there?"

"Zombies," Ochako mumbled, sounding traumatized and spooked.

"Zombies?" Momo questioned.

"Uh huh… They got Tsu when she was having a moment with Mongoose… And Mina… She didn't stand a chance against Teikiatsu."

"Oh crap," Hajikeru swore under his breath. "And if they're anything like movie zombies, if they bite you, you turn into a zombie." It was then he noticed the giddy look on Denki's face. "What are you smiling about?"

"Remember the smoke from earlier?" the blond asked. "It was Zombie gas. And I bet it was one the guys from that other school."

"Great, that's super informative, Kaminari." The surrounding students could hear the sarcasm dripping off of the pink eyed teen. "That still doesn't change the fact that our classmates are zombies wanting to eat our brains and we're trapped in a cave just waiting for who knows what!"

All of the students then heard a heavy impact against the ice wall, causing them to jump in fright. Almost immediately after, several other impacts could be heard coming from the opposite side. The ice heavily fractured from the multiple impacts and nearly shattered into little shards if Shoto didn't put up another wall to replace it.

"This isn't going to work," Shoto said. "They're going to keep going until we run out of room in here."

"Well, what do we do?!" Denki shouted in a panicked frenzy, clumsily holding the flag like a sword and forgetting his earlier cheekiness. "I don't want to be a zombie!"

"I might have an idea," Izuku answered with confidence. "Todoroki, can you make one more ice sheet for them to break down? I need time to prepare before I can do anything."

"Done," the dual Quirk user simply replied.

"But won't you risk hurting yourself if you use your Quirk, Midoriya?" Hajikeru asked, getting concerned looks from Ochako, Denki, and Momo.

"Just trust me on this, guys," the greenette answered.

After Shoto made another ice wall, Izuku got into a sprinter's position and activated his Quirk. Instead of the usual red and gold glow around one of his limbs, light green electricity danced and sparked around his entire body. It was such a far cry from how it worked just over a week ago that it completely took everyone by surprise, save for Shoto since he had already seen it.

"What the hell," Hajikeru muttered out.

"That's so cool," Ochako spoke with wide eyes.

"How is he copying my thing?" Denki questioned, referring to the bolts of electricity.

"Here they come!" Momo called out over the verbal commotion. On cue, the zombified students began to create fissures in the ice with their enhanced strength. Seeing that as the signal, Izuku charged at the ice with his fist cocked back. Once he was within arm's reach, he threw his fist forward while yelling out 'SMASH!' at the same time. The blast of air that came from the greenette's fist was enough to drive the zombified students back and onto the remaining landmines that Momo had made much earlier, sending them airborne.

"Alright!" Izuku called out. "Let's get out of here before they come—"

"WHAT THE?!" yelled out a voice that sounded a lot like Tenya. "HOW DID I GET UP HERE?!"

As the 1-A students hiding out in the cave ventured out, they caught a sight none of them would ever see for the rest of their lives: All of their classmates and friends falling out of the sky as they screamed in terror.

"THEY TURNED BACK TO NORMAL?!" Izukui shouted in shock and surprise. "I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"

"That's something you don't see every day," Shoto said in a neutral tone.

"Does anything even amuse you, Todoroki?" Hajikeru plainly asked.

"OI, SHITNERD!" shouted an angry Katsuki. Locked under one of his arms in a headlock was Romero, beaten up with many bumps and bruises all over his face. "YOU LOOKING FOR A FIGHT!?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" yelled a now panicky Izuku. "Wait a minute, Kacchan!"

"YOU ASKED FOR IT! TAKE THIS, YOU DAMN NERD!" As Katuski began to gain momentum and spin through the air, Izuku was getting ready to dash away with his own Quirk. But way before the explosive blond could reach his target, his hands stopped emitting explosions and he landed face down on the ground.

"The fuck?"

"Times up," lazily called out the Erasure Hero as he arrived at the mesa. "If you don't have a package in your possession at this time, you automatically lose the exercise."

Nearly all of the students groaned in pain with several being a lot louder than the rest of them.

"But sensei, what about the thing with the zombies?" Sherry asked as she was dusting herself off for the second time that day.

"That was simply one of the obstacles you needed to overcome," Shota replied without skipping a beat. "If you don't react or adapt to the situation in time, then you get left behind."

Another round of groans was the Erasure Hero's answer.

"You know what I just realized?" Denki muttered to Hajikeru.

"What?" he answered.

"No one besides Bakugo came to the obvious rock in the middle of the forest for our flag."

That actually amused the bubble teen enough to get him to chuckle at the realization. With all the craziness that just happened today, it was good to be back at U.A.

 **AN: I AM HERE! WITH A GIANT FREAKIN' CHAPTER! Seriously, I don't know what the final word count of this chapter is, but it is LOOONG. Anyway, I've got some things I need to address in this chapter. One reviewer asked about the other extra student from Class 1-B, since I established that there were going to be 22 students in both classes instead of 20... Would you believe me if I told you I forgot about that little detail up until that comment? Not to worry, I already have a solution to that! I won't say what it is until next chapter, though. Yes, I am that mean. Deal with it.**

 **Next thing on the list (there is no list) is that this fanfic will officially be a year old in a week from when this is uploaded! (4/21, this was up loaded on the 14th) Holy fuckamoly. When I started this fic, I just did it because I had an idea for an OC and just rolled with it. Now... No, I'm still rolling with it to this day and I'm not stopping until My Hero Academia ends, or my will to write fades into oblivion.**

 **Fun Fact: In the planning stages for this fanfic, (they're just drawings in my sketchbook) I originally wrote Hajikeru and Denryoku as bitter rivals, like Naruto and Sasuke. But as I began writing this fanfic, I figured that angle was overly done to death and then some, so I decided to make them the best of friends instead! Wooo! While I'm on the subject, Sherry didn't actually have a visual design when I started writing this, even though her name in the first chapter as one of the top 5 scores... I think. I don't have the damn chapter open right now, okay? Leave me alone!**

 **Okay, I've wasted enough time on this AN, so I will end it with: Thank you so much for reading this fanfic this past year and I hope you have a great day/night/... Okay, I'm not doing that again. That... That joke was stale the first time I did it. Oi...**

 **-OmegaBox**


	18. The Final Exam Arc Pt 1

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

Several weeks have passed since Class 1-A returned from their internships and now we find everyone discussing their success.

"I DIDN'T STUDY AT ALL! ! !"

The source of their predicament Mina and Denki were referring to were their midterm scores from weeks ago and overall standing in the class. The electric blond is currently ranked 22 and the pink girl is ranked 21, the lowest in the class. Final Exams were next week, and it is very clear they are not ready for it. Despite saying the same thing, the former was visibly panicking while the latter didn't seem to be too concerned over her predicament.

"Between the Sports Festival and internships, Final Exams completely slipped my mind!" Denki half yelled, half muttered. Mina just continued giggling as if nothing was wrong.

Fumikage didn't say anything but he had to begrudgingly agree. He was currently ranked 15 in the class.

"To be honest, midterms weren't too difficult," Rikido said as he was talking to Koji. The former's rank is 14 and the latter's rank is 12. "But since we came back from our internships, it's been one subject after the other. I think Finals are going to be much tougher than our midterms." The silent teen simple nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that really sucks, doesn't it?" Minoru asked in a smug tone as he sat smugly in his seat. Surprisingly enough, the little grape teen's rank was 9, much higher than every else expected. "It doesn't help that there's going to be a practical exam to go with the written exam. Looks like you two have your work cut out for you."

"How can you be one of them?!" Mina shouted in exasperation.

"People like you are only lovable if they're idiots!" Denki added with equal energy. "Who's gonna like you when you're that smart!?"

"The world, that's who," Minoru replied, his smugness ever strong.

"Am I the only one who saw that coming?" Hajikeru asked. He was currently ranked 11 in the class, which wasn't too surprising. He wasn't much of a smart person, but he made up for it with constant study habits, mostly due to Denryoku forcing him to do such things in the past.

"Can you specify what you mean, Utakata?" Mezo asked. The multi-armed teen was ranked 10 in the class.

"I'm talking about Mineta's ranking in the class."

"No, I had the same idea as well."

It didn't take that much to see Minoru wasn't as dumb as people make him out to be. Since Hajikeru and Shouji were naturally good at observation, they both came to the conclusion that the little grape teen actually had some brains to him. He managed to easily work around Shoto's opening move during the first round of the Sports Festival and he created the capture wall to successfully trap All Might when he was posing as a villain during one of their training exercises. Many people dismiss the very idea of his intelligence due to his constant perversions and inability to properly communicate with anyone without dipping into it in some way, shape or form. Those people are right to treat him as such, but are wrong in dismissing what's there.

"Bleh… That still doesn't change that fact that he's a nasty pervert!" Tooru said in disgust. The invisible girl was ranked 13 in the class.

"Oh, definitely not!" the bubble teen snickered out.

"Don't worry, Ashido, Kaminari!" Izuku called out. "I'm sure you will pass if you try hard enough!"

"Midoriya is right!" Tenya shouted in authority. "I would not tolerate anything less than your best if we are to all go to the training camp!"

"What I can't understand is how you both are so low in the rankings despite being here almost every day," Shouto said in a flat tone.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't help Denki's situation or lessen his tension at all. Izuku is ranked 4, Tenya is ranked 2, and Shouto is ranked 5, all far above Denki's rank within the class. If anything, the words stung more than helped, besides the half-white, half-red head's comment, which was intended to sting anyway.

"Excuse me, you two," Momo called out from the sidelines. "If you require help with your academics, I would be more than happy to assist!" The dark haired girl was ranked 1 in the class, an accomplishment worthy of her sparkly demeanor.

"Would you really, Yaomomo/Yaoyorozu!?" replied Mina and Denki, respectively.

"Of course I would! I wouldn't want my classmates and friends to be left behind simply due to failing grades."

"In that case, you think you can help me with my math, Yaomomo?" Kyoka asked as she approached the regal girl. The rocker girl was ranked 7 in the class. "I'm still having trouble with quadratic functions."

"Can you help me with English and literature?" Hanta asked with a pleading action. He was ranked 19 in the class, so he could use the help.

"I don't really need that much help, but I could definitely improve," Mashirao plainly spoke. He was ranked 8, so his statement held true.

"Yaomomo!" Sherry excitedly called out. The sandy blonde was ranked 18 in the class. "Baku-Boy is threatening to kill me during his study sessions! You got room for one more?"

If Momo was feeling helpful before when she suggested her help to her fellow classmates, she was absolutely ecstatic now that she was helping a good chunk of the class. It was to the point that the room was bathed in a golden glow coming from her person.

"I would be happy to help!" she replied with radiated happiness. She then went into a mumble spree about the preparations she needs to make for her home to welcome guests, which did a good job of impressing and overwhelming her soon to be guests with how rich she was.

"Man, that does sound like a good idea," Eijiro muttered longingly. The hardening teen was ranked 17 in the class.

"Oi, Shitty Hair," growled Katsuki with a flaming aura around him. He was currently ranked 3, which was probably the only bigger surprise compared to Minoru's ranking. "You're that quick to bail on me? I'll kill you with learning."

"I'm in your care, Baku-bro!"

"The fuck you are."

"Huh," Hajikeru uttered with a barely present blush as he observed Momo. "So that's what Yaoyorozu's 'Girl's Charm' looks like."

"Absolutely adorable!" Tooru squealed as she made a mental check mark. Since she found out about the secondary ability surrounding her Quirk, it was the invisible girl's goal to see all the Class 1-A girls' 'Girl Charm'. So far, Ochako, Mina, and recently Momo have done it, so she has yet to see Tsuyu's, Kyoka's, Sherry's, and Mina's in action.

Mezo simply kept his face straight and remained unfazed by the display. He's seen that move so much over the last few weeks that he's practically immune to it now. Only Tooru can make a significant impression on him anymore and it's only because her Quirk amplifies its effects.

"Hey, Utakata? You got a minute, dude?" Denki asked the large bubble teen as he approached the trio.

"What's up, Kaminari?" he replied.

The electric blond was scratching the back of his head as he spoke. "You think I could join your study group after class today?"

It should be known that Hajikeru, Mezo, and Tooru have a small study group that they hold after class for about an hour or so. It definitely helped since they hovered around the halfway mark in the class. They've invited Mina for several sessions and while she did pretty well in them, she usually skips out on them, constantly reminding them that she 'got this'. As her rank clearly states, she doesn't exactly 'got this'.

"Yeah, you can definitely join us, Kaminari. But I got to ask…" This got the electric blond to focus. "Didn't you ask Yaoyorozu for help? Isn't she going to tutor you guys?"

"Yeah, but that was before everyone started asking her to help them." Denki tried to hide his growing anxiety with a laugh, but he was easy to see through. The electric blond was never one to be put down when it came to most situations. He typically went with whatever was going on and only panics when the situation is dire. Going back on that thought, it seemed like his last place ranking was really putting the pressure on him despite his efforts to hide it.

"Well, if you're asking for help, and since you kinda need it…" Hajikeru briefly paused before continuing. "I have a suggestion that could… well, it's kinda hit or miss."

"Dude, if it keeps me from failing the Final, I'll take anything!"

"Okay. Just… try not to hate me later, okay?"

Denki blinked before he replied with a simple "Wut?"

 _During Lunch Period_

"So you're asking me to be your tutor for an entire week so that you're prepared for the Final Exam?" asked a deadpanned Denryoku to Denki as they ate their lunch. The group of friends, consisting of Hajikeru, Mezo, Tooru, Denki, and Mina were currently seated with the electro teen, Juzo, and Setsuna at a large table. The electro teen put his attention to his best friend, who was currently trying to look occupied with his food. "You gave him a warning, right?"

"Was I supposed to?" the bubble teen simply replied before taking a sip of his iced tea. "I gave him an out by telling him he could join me, Shouji, and Hagakure if you didn't want to do it."

"I'm not saying that. I want to know if I'm the only option left for him or if he's really that desperate."

"You know, you can still join me and the others to Yaomomo's, Kaminari," Mina suggested. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind one more person."

"As much as I want to, I don't think it's going to be as helpful as one on one help," Denki replied. "I'm dead last in our class, and if I don't pass the written test, even if I pass the Practical Exam, I'm completely screwed." It was from that response that everyone in Class 1-A knew Denki was taking this seriously, which is saying much more compared to his usual demeanor.

"I say let Vice Rep tutor him," Juzo said, drawing the table's attention. "He's ranked 1 in Class 1-B, so unless your classmate isn't ranked first, he'd still be getting a good amount of help."

"Wait, Emera ranked first in Class 1-B!?" Denki said in surprise. "That's awesome! I'm in your care, buddy!"

"Are you sure you want me as your tutor?" Denryoku asked in a low tone. "Because if you say yes, you're going to be subjected to a strict regimen, one that would even put dedicated people's patience to the limit. And I will make sure you do what I say, when I say. I don't want to hear any complaints from you over how difficult it is, nor anything about the content. You asked for my assistance and you will get what you asked for. And if, at any point, I feel like you're wasting my time, I will throw you under the bus and you'll have to figure out the rest for yourself. I only ask you to give everything you have for this. Are we in agreement?"

While the students didn't really get deterred from eating, they were quiet from what Denryoku just told Denki. This cold attitude wasn't anything new from the electro teen, but it still didn't sit well with the more sympathetic people of the group, better known as Mina and Tooru.

"I'll do it!" Denki loudly spoke with a confident grin. "I won't let you down, man!"

"I hope not. When classes are done for the day, meet me in the library. Third floor, around the Heroics history section, near the balcony."

"That's good," Setsuna casually said. "Vice Rep was looking for another vict— I mean person to tutor after school. Good to see you're taking one for the team, Thunderhead!"

"Thunderhead?" the electric blond questioned before shrugging. "At least it isn't Electro-Dolt."

"Oooo, that's even better! Imma use that!"

"Oh c'mon!" It was then Denki realized something from what the green haired girl, who oddly looked like Tsuyu, said earlier. "Wait, what do mean another victim to tutor?"

"I didn't say victim!"

 _Several Hours Later_

 _Class 1-A_

"We're going to fight robots for the practical?!" exclaimed both Mina and Denki. "This is going to be easy!"

During lunch period, Itsuka, having dissolved a situation with Neito and Izuku immediately before, mentioned what the practical portion of the Final Exam would be. According to her, it would be exactly like the Entrance Exam: Defeat as many robots as possible within the time limit. And much to Mina and Denki's joy, their Quirks were perfect for that task.

"Well, at least we know what to expect now," Hajikeru said as he watched his classmates celebrate. "I've wanted to release some stress for a while now."

"And that can only be fixed with breaking robots?" Tooru asked in amused tone.

"Heck yeah! Have you ever thrown a robot at another robot? It's an awesome feeling!"

He could call it a six sense or simply knowing his friend well enough, but Hajikeru just felt the invisible girl throw a deadpanned look his way. And after a quick look around, that only confirmed it.

"I can vouch for that," Mezo added. And as expected with a slight shuffle of her clothes, Tooru sent the same deadpanned look towards the multiple armed teen as Hajikeru failed to stifle a laugh.

"As if that would change anything, you bunch of extras," Katsuki said as he went to leave the class.

"Hey, who are you calling 'extras'!?" Denki shouted as his joy was quickly drained away. "I thought you got over calling us that after we showed how badass we are!"

"Don't make me laugh, Thunder-Dumbass! You're the fucking moron that doesn't know how to dial back his damn Quirk! You're utter shit without someone to bail your ass out!"

"That's enough, Bakugo!" Tenya called out with more bite in his voice. "You're going to cease these unnecessary insults! We do not need this amount of tension a week before the Final Exam!"

"Fuck off, Glasses! You and everyone else here are nothing to someone like me!"

"He said enough, Bakugo," Hajikeru spoke up as he called out the explosive blond. Even with the distance between them, he still could feel himself shiver under the heated gaze driven his way. Hell, he wanted to take back what he said after feeling it, but he didn't want to back down. He still hadn't gone back on his confident streak after several weeks and he didn't want to end it. "I don't know why you're being more of an ass than usual, but you need to dial it back before you say something you regret."

"I don't back down from anything, you toon fuck!"

"Oh thanks. Like I haven't heard that one before."

It was then Katsuki shifted his attention to Izuku, who was simply staring at the situation in slight fear, unable to comprehend what is happening. "Listen up, Deku! I don't give a fuck over how much you've improved your Quirk. You can try to match me up all you want, but at the end of the day you're still a maggot under my foot! And when the exams come around, I'll show you exactly how far the gap between us is! Got it, shitstain!?"

It was as clear as the air around them. Katsuki just openly declared war on Izuku and as he left, he extended the declaration towards Shoto before slamming the door to the classroom.

As soon as he left, Hajikeru released the breath that he didn't know he was holding. Having a source of intense anger directed at you really wasn't pleasant.

"Shit," Eijiro uttered. "I haven't seen him act like that in a while."

"Poor guy's probably getting antsy over Midoriya's progress," Sherry lowly said. Thankfully, the only people who heard her were the spiky redhead and Fumikage. While she wasn't one for analysis, she knew people and the day All Might held a Rescue Exercise for Class 1-A was the time she noticed a change in Katsuki.

The times when he would follow Eijiro and herself to lunch from a distance were gone after that moment. In times when they invited him to hang out after class, he simply blew them off instead of rejecting the offer like he usually does. It was getting to the point where he became as much as a social outcast as Shoto when the term first started; only this time the outcast has the temper of a thermonuclear warhead. It was frustrating to see, but neither she, nor Eijiro can do anything to get to him.

"Jeez, the nerve of that guy," Mina scoffed, all previous glee gone.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading home," Denki casually said as he picked up his things, not at all affected by what the angry blond told him.

"Kaminari," called out the pink-eyed teen. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The electric blond was confused for a brief moment before remembering he had to meet up with Denryoku after classes finished. With that, he bid farewell to his classmates and headed off to the library.

 _Later_

 _U.A Library_

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Sitting at a large desk while looking over his notes was none other than Hitoshi Shinsou, the same one that declared war on Class 1-A and got completely shut down by Denryoku in the Cavalry Battle.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" the brainwashing teen applied in annoyance. "And can you shut up? We're in a library."

Denki froze in realization at where he was before he quietly continued on his verbal spiel. "What the hell you doing here? I'm supposed to meet Emera here so he can help me study!"

Hitoshi simply gave off a grunt before replying, "I'm here for the same reason. Emera's been helping me catch up with Heroics Studies for the past few weeks."

Something was incredibly wrong with that sentence and took nearly all of Denki's limited brain power to fully process what the brainwashing teen just said.

"Wut?" was the most intelligent reply he could have mustered in that point in time.

"Are you really asking me to spell it out?"

"That's enough, Shinsou," Denryoku said as he made his way to the large, mostly vacant table. "Don't antagonize Kaminari. He's got enough on his plate as is."

The brainwashing teen complied without uttering another word.

"Dude," Denki muttered, still suffering from a pseudo brain-short-out. "What the hell does he mean by catch up with Heroics Studies?"

"It means what it means. Shinsou is a part of Class 1-B."

"Okay, I got that, but… How?!"

The dark haired teen was setting up his supplies as he spoke to his fellow electric-Quirk user. "When we got back from our internships, we were told that he was joining the class. No questions asked."

"Just like that?!"

"Just like that. At the very least, both of our classes have the same number of students in them now."

"Okay, but HOW did he get in?"

Hitoshi gave off a heavy sigh, clearly indicating he was getting tired of the electric blond's constant talking.

"I got in through an interview over the break when you and the other Heroics students were out for your internships," he said as he glared at Denki. "Even with how far I got in the Sports Festival it was a pain to convince them when there were 39 others trying to fill the open slot, but I managed to do it. Now can you shut up and study? We both need it."

Denki was wide-eyed at what the brainwashing teen aggressively told him, as if he was getting called out on some mistake he made. Denryoku simply kept gathering up some papers before he neatly stacked them and gave his attention to the blond.

"Alright, Kaminari," he addressed as Denki gave him his attention. "Since you came to me for help with only a week left in the term, you're going to have to cramp a week's worth of material in a day up until the Written Exam. When we meet up tomorrow, I'm going to quiz you on the material I assigned you the day before. If you score less than 60 for that day, you'll have to go over the material again while studying the material I give you for the next day. And since we can only be here up until 18:00 (6:00pm), you're going to be doing all of your studying at home."

"Um…" the blond uttered before he was interrupted.

"Give me your phone number before we leave for the day. It will give me better access to you if you need help at home. Anytime is fine, except after 22:30 (10:30pm). I'll be asleep by then. And try to get at least seven hours of sleep. If you're tired the next day, that'll only make it worse for you for the rest of the week."

"Uh…"

"And as long as I'm your tutor, I do not expect any sort of complaining or whining over how difficult it is for you. You dug yourself into this hole and you're asking me to help dig you out of it. Understood?"

"U-understood, Emera," Denki shakily replied, overwhelmed by the information and frightened at the intensity of his voice in the last bit.

"Good." The electro teen then slammed his hand on the table, startling Denki as several sparks emitting from the studs on his fingers. Hitoshi, meanwhile, simply rolled his eyes at the act of intimidation. "Now, what do you want to go over first?"

 _One Week Later_

In the days leading up to the Final Exams, everyone was putting all of their effort into studying the term's coursework.

As expected, Denki was completely swamped with all the work that Denryoku had assigned him for next week. And true to his word, the electro teen was completely merciless when it came to following his guidelines. If Denki got below a 60 in a quiz, he had to study twice the material the next day. And considering it was a mountain's worth of material a day, it was really straining his brain. It even got to the point where his dopey face was plastered on his face for the most of Monday. The strange part about it was instead of his signature 'Wheeeeeey', the electric blond was bumbling 'Yaaaaay' throughout homeroom.

A simple slap to the face from Kyoka snapped him out of it, but it left him with a massive headache for the rest of the day.

The past week was incredibly stressful for everyone in the Heroics Course, but all that was left was the practical portion of the Final Exam. Clad in their Hero outfits was Class 1-A, and in front of them were their teachers.

"Alright, everyone," Shota called out. "It's time to start your Practical Exam. The parameters behind this exam are the same for you Written Exam. If you fail this exam, you will be excluded from attending the summer training camp. I suggest you don't screw this up."

"There's quite a few teachers here," Kyoka said as she noticed how many of their teachers were there.

"Yeah," Tooru agreed. "Cementoss, Snipe, Thirteen… Almost all our teachers are here."

"Guys, I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Hajikeru muttered as he saw the teachers in front of him.

"I'm getting a similar feeling, Utakata," Mezo said as he also noted the number of teachers.

"You guys are just getting paranoid," Hanta responded. "It'll be fine. They're probably just here to supervise us in our test."

"I'm sure by now you've asked around to see what the Practical Exam would be like?" the Erasure Hero asked.

"Robo-massacre!" Denki said with gusto. He would have said it with more energy, but his head was still killing him from all the studying he did in just the past week. "Just like the Entrance Exam!"

"This is going to be easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy!" Mina chanted with several pumps of her arm.

"Not quite!" Nezu exclaimed as he popped out of Shota's capture scarf. "I'm sorry to say, students, but this year's Practical Exam is going to be very different!"

And just like that, all of Mina's and Denki's celebrating came to an abrupt end.

"What's the principal doing here?" spoke a confused Hanta.

"What does Principal Nezu mean by 'different'?" Momo asked to no one in particular.

'Yup, bad feeling getting worse,' Hajikeru thought.

"Starting from today, the Heriocs Course's Final Exam will be against real flesh and blood opponents," Nezu started. "After much consideration, it was decided that this method is more practical towards your careers as society's next Heroes. And what would this method be?" The mammalian creature was met with silence before continuing. "That method would be: Two of you students will be facing up against one of us!"

To say the students were shocked was a gross understatement. Having been prepared for a full on brawl with a bunch of robots, they were not expecting the rug to be pulled from under their feet. Granted it made sense why they were changing it, but a little forewarning would have been preferred.

"We're going up against a teacher?" Ochako asked in a nervous tone.

"Your pairs and teacher have already been decided ahead of time. Battle moves, grades, friendships, compatibility, intelligence. These were all factors in deciding who your battle partner will be and which teacher you will be facing. Now let's get to your last exam, shall we?"

A large holographic projection appeared from a large metallic disk on the mammalian creature's paw. The projection read:

Cemetoss vs. Eijiro Kirishima and Rikido Satou

Eraserhead vs. Shoto Todoroki and Sherry Teikiatsu

Vlad King vs. Hajikeru Utakata and Ochako Uraraka

Power Loader vs. Tenya Iida and Mashirao Ojiro

Thirteen vs. Yuga Aoyama and Momo Yaoyorozu

Snipe vs. Tooru Hagakure and Mezo Shouji

Ectoplasm vs. Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami

Principal Nezu vs. Mina Ashido and Denki Kaminari

Present Mic vs. Kyoka Jiro and Koji Koda

Midnight vs. Minoru Mineta and Hanta Sero

All Might vs. Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya

"You'll be given 30 minutes to either capture your opponent with these issued handcuffs or for one of you to escape the assigned arena," the Erasure Hero explained as he showed the class some yellow handcuffs. "All of you will be taking the exam at the same time in order to keep anyone from getting an idea of how the test will work. The specifics of the exam will be given by your opponents at your assigned areas. Get going. You're going to be pushed to your limits today."

 **AN: What's up? Okay, kinda short this time around, but this is mostly just setup for the next chapter, which I am going to have fun with. Different fights and possible outcomes are to come~, but you'll have to wait until- Okay, I'll stop being a whore. You'll see when I release it. With any luck, I won't take long to release it. Only problem there is... well, Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel were released for free on PlayStation Plus, so... Yeah, that's not sucking away my free time or anything. Anyway, SIDE STORY TIME! Been a while, I know.**

 _Side Story: Welcome to Class 1-B_

 _Several Weeks Ago_

 _Class 1-B_

 _"…and can you believe she had the nerve to call my love of dinosaurs a 'problem'?!" Setsuna nearly shouted to a group of her friends._

 _"That's a weird thing to say," Itsuka replied with a confused tone. "You really like dinosaurs, but you're not obsessed with them."_

 _"I know, right!?"_

 _"Maybe she has a problem with big, stupid, scaly lizards," Yoyetsu muttered, though not low enough to avoid being heard._

 _That, apparently, was the green haired girl's trigger, as she began to shout and preach against the 'welding' Quirk user, splitting herself into little pieces and having them fly around the top of the room in the process._

 _"BLASPHEMY! HERESY! UTTER BULLSHITTERY! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK SO POORLY OF MY BELOVED DINOS, YOU SOUR FACED, ARCHOSOURIA HATER!?"_

 _"Oh boy," Juzo spoke with an amused tone. "Tokage pulled out the big words. This could be bad."_

 _"Bad enough to interfere?" Denryoku asked in his typical deadpanned tone._

 _"Nah."_

 _"Alright, settle down, everyone!" called out the Blood Hero as his large figure entered the classroom. "Tokage, pull yourself together and get back in your seat."_

 _Setsuna's disembodied head turned towards Sekijiro in surprise and irritation, then back at smug looking Yoyetsu as her body parts began to put themselves back together._

 _"You got lucky, asswipe," she said with slitted eyes as her head pulled away and plopped into its place on her neck._

 _The Blood Hero was visibly sorting through some papers before he addressed his class. "First off, welcome back. I'm sure you've gained at least some experience from your internships and I'm sure it's some riveting stuff. Right now, however, I have an important announcement that will affect all of Class 1-B."_

 _Like a moth to a lantern in the dead of night, all attention was focused on the large homeroom teacher. Several students waited with baited breath, while others kept their faces neutral as they thought about what the announcement was._

 _Vlad King was never one for dramatic flair, so many of the announcements were often given to Class 1-B as if it were casual conversation. For him to say he has important news definitely meant it was important._

 _"As you may have noticed since the beginning of the semester, our class is one student short of the newly proposed 22 students in the Heroics Course. I've talked to the principal about this several times since the semester started, and over the last week we managed to find a student to fill this slot."_

 _"Pardon me, Sensei-sir," spoke up Jurota as he raised a furry arm. "May I ask why this error was made in the first place?"_

 _Since it was announced that this year was going to be accepting four more students into the Heroics Course, everyone in Class 1-B was questioning why they only had 21 instead of 22._

 _"The principal was using our class as a test subject. Since this is the first time this many students have been accepted and since he wishes to continue with this selection, he wanted to experiment with how other students get into the Heroics Course if the proposed 22 was not reached due to how students scored in the Entrance Exam. This decision was made after the Principal told us we were getting 22 students each, but without our prior knowledge."_

 _The beast-like teen accepted that answer with a nod, as did others in the class._

 _"So, pray tell, Kan-sensei," Neito spoke up. "What poor sap did Class 1-B pick up?"_

 _Half of the class glared towards the sardonic blond, wondering if he can be glad for anything in his life._

 _"I'm sure you're familiar with the General Studies student that declared war on a Class 1-A a couple weeks before the Sports Festival, correct?"_

 _Denryoku raised an eyebrow when he heard that question._

 _"You mean Shinsou?" he asked. The Blood Hero nodded before calling out the door._

 _"Come one in, Shinsou!"_

 _When the doors to the room slid open, Hitoshi walked to the front of the class with the same low energy he showed several weeks back. He faced the class and immediately locked eyes with Denryoku when he saw him in one of the middle rows before looking over the class._

 _"I'm in your care, Class 1-B," he said in a tired tone._

 **That's it from me! Bye!... Did I use that already? It just seems so plain, so I assumed I used it already... Oh well.**

 **-OmegaBox**


	19. The Final Exam Arc Pt 2

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

True to the Pro Heroes' words, every single member of Class 1-A were loaded onto a bus immediately after the Erasure Hero gave them the barebones basics of the Practical Exam.

Both Hajikeru and Ochako, along with Vlad King, were currently standing in front of an arch outside of the Collapsed Zone in the USJ. The arch itself was full of light bulbs and bright colors with a cartoon Principal Nezu on it, which caused the bubble teen to question if the super-genius, mammalian creature was egocentric.

"Alright, you two," the blood Hero started to the younger teenagers. Given his physical stature, he was doing a good job at intimidating the duo, though they never showed it. "The rules for this exam are very simple. As Aizawa said before, you will have 30 minutes to complete this exam. Your conditions for victory are to either capture me with these issued handcuffs or for one of you to escape through this arch. This will be a test of judgment: Either stay and fight, or flee to call for backup."

"But since you're a Pro Hero, wouldn't it make more sense to run?" Hajikeru asked. From beside him, his partner nodded in agreement. "I mean, taking on one of the teachers is the same as asking to get your face punched in, right?"

"I was getting to that, Utakata," Seikijiro answered with a bit of annoyance in his voice, causing the pink-eyed teen to shrink under the ever present glare. The blood Hero then took out a set of six wrist and ankle weights, four and two, respectively. "The teachers are required to wear these weights in order to keep this exam from being too difficult. Normally I would be against going easy on you kids, but the Principal demanded it as a requirement for us teachers."

"That's going easy on us?" Ochako asked without thinking, much to Vlad King's further annoyance.

"I'm getting very tempted to go against the Principal's orders right now."

Just hearing that made the duo freeze up. A simple recall over what their own homeroom teacher said in the beginning of the term was what got them to stop talking all together.

 _"U.A. has a loose curriculum policy, meaning I, as a teacher and your instructor, am allowed to set the guidelines to any assignment or test that I want."_

Instead of saying anything else, both Ochako and Hajikeru simply proceeded to their positions at the center of the arena.

As he was fastening the weights onto his arms, Seikijiro was recalling the time he was chosen to conduct the exam for the two.

 _One Week Ago_

 _"Kan, I'm going to assign you Utakata and Uraraka," Nezu said, causing the Blood Hero to raise his eyebrows in question._

 _"Why them, Principal?" he asked._

 _"In terms of capability and teamwork, they're probably one of the most capable to pass this exam. Their grade rankings hover around the halfway mark and they have a good friendship between one another. However, they both have difficulties thinking straight in the midst of battle, even more so when the situation is dire. They tend to make poor decisions when pressure is put on them or if things don't go their way. Having Midoriya come to their rescue was the only reason why their team succeeded in their first training session with All Might."_

 _"So, what should I do for their exam?"_

 _"Try to have control of the battle. Force them to make the least desirable option."_

 _Present_

'Given their Quirks, it would make sense that they would try something that would make them as mobile as possible,' the blood Hero thought. Turning away from the crippled buildings and facing the arch, he cracked his knuckles and neck in preparation of his own strategy. 'This isn't against the rules, so you can't call me out, Nezu.'

 _Meanwhile_

 _Eraserhead vs. Shoto Todoroki and Sherry Teikiatsu_

"…However, if the gap in power is too big, then it's better to run and call for reinforcements," Shota said as he was explaining the rules to Shoto and Sherry. "Todoroki, you, Midoriya, and Iida should understand what I mean."

The dual Quirk user briefly thought back to the time the three of them encountered the Hero Killer.

"This word of advice is for you, too, Teikiatsu."

"I got it, sensei," Sherry replied with a heated look, though it wasn't towards the Erasure Hero.

Shota knew paring the two together would bring up problems long buried from the Sports Festival, but it's exactly why the pair was made.

 _One week Ago_

 _"While we're on the topic of pairing students based on relation, I suggest putting Todoroki and Teikiatsu together," Nezu recommends._

 _The Erasure Hero simply nodded before he spoke. "Simply speaking, Todoroki doesn't have any major weaknesses, but he has a habit of relying on brute force too much. And while he's shown more initiative to using his Fire Quirk, it isn't nearly to the level we want it to be. Teikiatsu has a similar problem with brute force, but her problem lies in her relationship with Todoroki. She gets along with almost everyone, but since the Sports Festival she's been giving him the cold shoulder. By putting them together, they either work with one another or Teikiatsu's stubbornness would fail them both."_

 _Present_

 _Vlad King vs. Ochako Uraraka and Hajikeru Utakata_

After being sent away by their opponent/teacher, the pair of Heroes-in-training made their way to the center of the Collapsed Zone, which mostly consisted of many… well, collapsed buildings. Concrete slabs and rebar populated the area, which made the trek slightly problematic to navigate. At the very least, they didn't need to use their Quirks to get to where they needed to be.

"You think Vlad King-sensei has it out for us after we talked back to him?" Hajikeru asked his much smaller partner.

"Maybe?" replied the gravity girl. "I don't know. Maybe he just has one of those faces."

The bubble teen snorted before taking a serious face as he began to pump himself up. "So how do you think we should play this?"

The brunette adopted a mildly serious look as she spoke. "I don't know. We've never seen Kan-sensei's Quirk before, so maybe we should keep our distance if we run into him." She suddenly had a scary thought. "You think he can control our blood if he gets close to us?"

"I… have no idea. The only time we saw him was at the USJ, but he didn't use his Quirk. And I didn't bother looking up information on the guy from any of his Info-pages."

The pair, having realized they have nothing on the Hero outside of his 'Intro-title', was at a loss at what they could do to pass their exam. To make things worse the horn that indicated the start of the exam sounded throughout the area, startling both Ochako and Hajikeru out of their thoughts.

"Crap," muttered the gravity girl. "I thought we would have more time."

"We can do this," Hajikeru said with confidence. "We just need to stay calm and assess the situation. Even if we don't know anything about Vlad King-sensei before, we can try to get what we can now."

Ochako clenched her fists in determination at her partner's statement.

"You're right, Utakata," she said with confidence. "If Deku was put into this situation, he wouldn't give up either!"

The bubble teen gave Ochako an amused look as they began running towards the entrance of the Collapsed Zone, one that didn't slip by her.

"What?"

"You really look up to Midoriya, don't you?"

In response, the brunette gave off a megawatt smile before turning to face forward. "Of course I do! He's got what it takes to be an awesome Hero! And he's super cool!"

Hajikeru simply chuckled at the comment before adding his two cents.

"Yeah. He's pretty awesome, isn't he?"

 _Meanwhile_

The Blood Hero appeared satisfied with what he had planned for his two charges. Now that he was ready for them, all he had to do was sit and wait for them.

'They believe running is the best option since I'm a Pro Hero,' he thought as he entered a dilapidated building. 'A reasonable argument, but completely flawed and pessimistic. For the two of them, it's the easy way to pass this exam. And by eliminating their preferred choice, they're going to have to work for their grade.'

 _Elsewhere_

It took a bit of trial and error to get down, but after some adjustments in his movements, Hajikeru managed to get a handle on his currently weightless body. Just earlier, Ochako suggested she used her Quirk on him to navigate the ruined streets a little better. It worked in their favor since the bubble teen's equipment, along with the brunette on his back, kept him grounded and he was able to move freely without the aid of his Quirk. As he was navigating the arena, the two were discussing a plan for their opponent.

"So I was thinking," started the pink-eyed boy. "Since we don't really know what Vlad King-sensei can do, I think we should avoid fighting him all together. If we try to fight him, he could catch us off guard with his Quirk."

"But you can keep him at a distance with your own Quirk, right?" the brunette asked as she held on to the blunette's chest piece via the arm holes. "If he tries something, we can always run away. And we can at least get an idea on what his Quirk can do so we can make a plan later."

Hajikeru contemplated the suggestion for a short while before agreeing with his partner. He would have put some consideration into the decision, but since both Ochako and himself are in a time crunch there wasn't a lot of time to plan out every little detail. Besides, knowing the players in the game is crucial for victory.

"So we're going to bait him into using his Quirk first?" he asked as he took another leap.

"Yup, then if he's too much for us to handle, we both run away and make a plan," Ochako said in determination.

The brunette's partner simply nodded as they continued navigating the ruined city.

After another minute of leaping over fissures and rubble, the duo came across a long street with crumbled buildings that stretched towards a familiar sight. Normally, they would have felt sweet relief at being so close to passing their Practical Exam, but the problem therein lied with their opponent. Throughout the past five or so minutes since the exam began, they haven't seen or heard from the Blood Hero at all.

"How much do you want to bet that Vlad King-sensei is close to the exit?" Hajikeru asked in a focused tone.

"All of Yaomomo's money," Ochako replied without thinking, which caused her larger partner to look back in confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She at least had the decency to blush in embarrassment as she got off of his back and canceled out her Quirk.

"Alright, let's take this slow. There's plenty of hiding places in these buildings, so keep your eyes open for an ambush." Hajikeru was quiet as he spoke, taking into account that their opponent could be listening for them.

The distance to the archway was roughly 30 meters away, yet it was taking them far longer just to walk over there as they repeatedly looked over the buildings and alleyways that bordered the street. Every sound that came from the buildings they passed and the occasional 'spook' put them on edge. It was when they reached a building close to the exit that they finally noticed something near the archway on the ground.

Surrounding the arch was a single long, curved line of blood and it appeared to be moving in two directions, imitating the flow of a trickling stream. The sides of the archway also had blood surrounding them, except those lines were thinner compared to the one on the ground. There was something that greatly unnerved the two when it came to seeing flowing blood outside of the body. It just seemed unnatural, almost disgusting to think about.

That moment of disturbance was when the Blood Hero showed himself.

Vlad King came smashing through a window, the sharp noise of glass shattering surprising the teens out of their hazes. He wasn't one for dramatic flair, but he wasn't below using intimidation tactics.

Luckily, Hajikeru spotted the Pro Hero in time to grab Ochako and blow an Orange-Type Pressure Bubble to escape their opponent's attack. Said Hero impacted the ground they were once standing with a powerful thud. When the duo saw what Seikijiro tried to do, they were greatly surprised. Surrounding the Blood Hero's hands was a pinkish substance that looked crystalline in appearance. The way it molded into the ground almost seemed liquid, as the substance perfectly molded into the large crack in the street that was just under Ochako not two seconds before.

"You dodged that," Vlad King simply said as he began to stand up from his crouch. As he stood up, the crystalline material slowly turned into blood and shot up through the large man's white gauntlets. Several dried blood patches were the only indicators that Vlad King had even used his Quirk. "That would have been an automatic fail if I captured you there."

"Crap," Hajikeru muttered to his partner. "He can control his own blood to make it as solid as crystals? That's awesome, but terrifying." At the same time, he eyed the stream of blood that surrounded the archway. No doubt it was also the Pro Hero's doing.

"What do we do, now?" Ochako questioned her partner.

"You both have a simple choice," Seikijiro called out. "Either face me head on and capture me, or you fail the exam! That blood surrounding the exit will keep either of you from leaving."

"Uraraka," the pink eyed boy whispered as he readied his Quirk. "We need to get away from him for now."

"Alright, but where do we—" The brunette was interrupted by the Blood Hero when he went to strike.

They both jumped apart, narrowly avoiding getting caught in crystallized blood. To their misfortune, the Blood Hero had both of his arms pointed at his opponents. Hajikeru managed to create an Orange-Type Pressure Bubble to deflect the blood away from his person. Ochako, unfortunately, wasn't able to avoid of the attack entirely. One of her boots was trapped by the crystallized blood and she was very close to joining it when the Pro Hero broke off his hand from the small structure and went for her again.

The bubble teen, seeing his partner was in danger of getting captured, quickly made and detonated a Grapefruit-Type Pressure Bubble. He used the rushing air to quickly reach Seikijiro and Ochako, and he used a large amount of his saliva to create a large Bubble En Masse. The attack completely covered the Blood Hero's vision, which gave Hajikeru the perfect opportunity to get his partner away from their opponent. There was a brief moment of panic when the gravity girl didn't budge, but it was resolved quickly when she removed her captured boot.

Since Vlad King couldn't see his opponents from the excess of suds in his eyes, he decided to put his backup plan into motion. He raised both of his arms towards the archway and heavily tensed the muscles in his forearms and hands. A loud, heavy sound was the only indication that his Quirk ability had activated. After clearing out the rest of the bubbles from his face, Vlad went to see if he had stopped or captured the younger teens in his solidified blood.

He let out a grunt when he saw the barricaded archway devoid of two Heroes-in-Training.

 _Eraserhead vs Sherry Teikiatsu and Shoto Todoroki_

Things were not going well for the pair up of Sherry and Shoto.

Sherry made it clear that she didn't want to speak to the heterochromic teen, not even giving him a verbal reply despite his efforts to strike a conversation with her. The only reply she gave Shoto was a glare equal to the one she gave him during the Sports Festival.

The moment the exam began, the blonde quickly shot herself forward with her Quirk, which left her partner scrambling to catch up to her. And of course her bull headed approach didn't end well for either of them. Not a minute after Sherry made a beeline to the exit both she and her partner had their Quirks nullified by their homeroom teacher. This, of course, made them easy targets to capture with the Erasure Hero's capture scarf, even if Sherry put up a better fight without her Quirk than Shoto did.

Now they were both hanging from a lamppost, backs to each other, one absolutely fuming and the other trying to find a way out of the predicament.

"You both are lucky I can't fail you for getting captured," Shota called out from a nearby rooftop. "Though, if I had to guess, you both may as well fail this exam if this is your situation."

The captured pair couldn't think of a reason to think otherwise. They were both suspended in the air, arms, backs, and feet were bound together with their arms planted tightly against their torsos, and one of them wasn't in the mood to cooperate with the other while the other didn't know how they could cooperate. Neither one of them could use their Quirks in the way that they want without injuring the other in some way.

"This is a problem," the dual Quirk user plainly said.

"No shit, Icy-Hot," the blonde replied aggressively, using the name Katsuki typically uses to address Shoto, except in English. "You got anything in that big brain of yours?"

"Maybe. I can't use my Ice to break the wrap without freezing you, but maybe—"

"Of course you can't. Even with that control, you're completely out of luck if you're not touching anything expendable."

Shoto just sighed before he spoke to his partner. "What about you? Can't you use your Quirk to launch us away from Aizawa?"

"I've tried that, but he keeps shutting off my Quirk! Besides, if I use Gale Storm right now, that's at least a Category 3 move. The wind rotations would tear your leg into ribbons."

"I didn't know that."

"And then what? We'd still be tied up without a way to get separated and there is no way sensei is going to just let us leave. What was your plan then, genius?"

It was then Shoto decided to address what's been bugging him since the exam started. The glare, the aggression, the unwillingness to work with him. There had to be a reason for it.

"Teikiatsu, is there a reason why you've been acting hostile towards me, recently?" he asked in genuine confusion.

The blonde in question let out a snort before she sarcastically replied with, "Recently is an understatement, Todoroki. But, since I have to spell it out for you, think back to the Sports Festival. Think back to our fight and how it ended."

"The Sports Festival? Why would that be relevant?"

"Goddamnit, you're dense. You didn't use your Fire when you were in a pinch and you pretty much gave me the match!"

"But why would that matter? You moved on to the Finals, didn't you?"

"Only because you trapped yourself in a corner with your stupid Ice! You insulted everything I stood for as a Hero and there's nothing I hate more than a coward that refuses to use everything they have!"

Shoto's eyes slightly widened at what Sherry just said. That moment when he flared up his Fire was the same moment when his repressed memories came crashing back to him. Even when he was launched out of the arena, his focus was on the trauma he suffered through in his childhood. It should have been obvious to him from the death glare she gave him at the end of their match and before she asked Momo to help her onto the awards podium. He wanted to know what was wrong with her, but he put so much focus into rebuilding his relationship with his mother and siblings that it completely slipped his mind.

'So that's it,' Shota thought as he overheard his students. Currently, he was lounging on a nearby rooftop while using his Quirk on his students whenever he saw signs of Quirk usage, most of which came from the sandy blonde.

"I'm sorry," the heterchromic teen sighed, getting a questioning glare from his partner.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" she growled. She was getting very tempted to use her Quirk on her legs at that comment, collateral damage be damned.

"During our fight, when I thought I was finally able to use my Fire, I was hit with several buried memories from when I was a child."

Sherry's eyes were curious now, but they didn't lose their sharpness. "What memories?"

"My father… Endeavour… was abusive towards my mother when I was young and as a result, he left her in a mental institution after she burned me with boiling water. From that point onward, I vowed to only use the Quirk that I inherited from my mother, so I can show that bastard that I don't need him…" Then Shoto gained an insightful look, as if observing coy fish in a pond. "But then Midoriya told me that my Fire wasn't my father's… It was mine to use. But as our fight showed, I wasn't able to move on until I faced my mother… and the doubts that I had about using all of my power. That's why I couldn't use my Fire during our fight."

Sherry was quiet, but she completely digested everything her partner had just told her. Shoto suffered as a child and as a result, it manifested as a mental vow that prompted him to only use his Quirk a certain way.

She knew this because she was similar, in a way.

When her father was forced into retirement after a career ending injury, Sherry wanted nothing more than to be his successor and to become a Hero as great as the Gust Hero: 'Cyclos'. As a result, her drive to become the best was strong enough to manifest itself in her Quirk. Whenever she used her Quirk, unless she controlled the output, it would always fire at a full power Category 4. This often led to incidents where she would get injured when she was simply practicing her Quirk, even more so then compared to now. Control was something she constantly had to work on while everyone else was slowly building their Quirks up. It was tough, but she learned to live with it. Unlike with Shoto, however, there was never anything to resolve and her drive never faltered after all this time.

"Well, thanks for making me feel like a bitch," the sandy blonde said, sympathy clear in her voice.

"I'm not sure if that explanation sufficed, but I think you deserved an answer," her partner replied.

"I want a rematch."

This caught Shoto off guard at how out of nowhere the comment was. "What?"

"Not now, obviously. But when you get your problems fixed, I want a full on, no holds bar rematch. Then I'll know if I can match you."

He couldn't see from his position, but Shoto could practically feel the drive coming from the sandy blonde's voice.

"Okay."

She could only give off a fierce smile before swinging her feet back and forth, and shouting, "Alright! Now to pass this test!"

Nothing happened for a few seconds as their Quirks were still nullified by their homeroom teacher, which made the swinging a bit awkward. That is until Sherry felt the familiar sensation of her Quirk coming to life at the bottom of her feet. Her boots were made of breathable materials that gave her most of her control over her Quirk. Using both of her feet, and with a bit of cooperation from Shoto when she went to bend her knees, the duo managed to launch away from the Erasure Hero's vicinity, breaking the lamppost in the process. He was too busy wiping away kicked up dust in his eyes to erase their Quirks.

'Teikiatsu was using her Quirk the entire time I've been nullifying it for that period of time,' the Erasure Hero thought as he finished wiping his eyes and began pursuit of his students. 'So when I needed to blink, she took advantage of that window of opportunity by kicking up the dust from her attack.'

As Shota went to jump towards another building, he stopped in his tracks when a glacier's worth of ice exploded onto the scene in a wide, fanned out formation with a bit protruding down the street. Seeing the gargantuan structure, he observed the area after applying some of his eye drops into his dried up eyes.

'Using an attack of this scale in a residential area is a red flag for collateral damage. But it looks like Todoroki made the right decision in terms of where to use it.' He observed the buildings' lack of damage, save for a few out of place shingles and several cracks on the walls surrounding the houses on the four-way street. 'The exit to the testing area is behind me, and they've cornered themselves behind that barricade. So what will they do now?'

 _Meanwhile_

"S-see! Wh-what d-d-did I t-tell you?" Sherry chattered out as she and Shoto were freed from their homeroom teacher's binds. As expected of the heterochromic teen's Quirk, Sherry's left leg was frosted over. Thankfully, it only covered the sleeve of her boot. They used one of the ice spikes to loosen the ties around their torsos, just leaving enough room for Shoto to use his Ice to make their restraints brittle enough to shatter. He then proceeded to use his Ice on the restraints around their ankles, thus completely freeing them from capture.

"Now, what do we do about Aizawa?" Shoto asked as his flames regulated his body temperature and to defrost his partner's leg. "This barrier isn't going to do us any favors if we just stay behind it. Do you have any ideas?"

"I dunno, I thought you had a plan."

The dual Quirk user stayed quiet for a brief moment, quietly letting the blunt comment sink in before thinking of ways to get away or capture the Erasure Hero.

"Oh, here's an idea!"

He looked up to his blonde partner to see what she wanted.

"What is it?" he asked.

 _Meanwhile_

'If I had to guess, they're probably going to split up and give me more targets to hunt down,' Shota thought as he prepared his scarf for whatever came next. 'But if they do that, all I have to do is go to the exit and wait for them there.'

The Erasure Hero was broken out of his thoughts when he heard heavy thuds coming from the other side of the iceberg.

'What are they planning?'

After some time, the impacting sounds had stopped, but not before leaving large fissures near the base of the ice formation. Around the same time, the familiar, whistling sound of Sherry's Quirk could be heard from behind the iceberg.

"Hurricane Force…!"

"They can't be serious," muttered Shota as he prepared himself for the impending impact.

"…Category 3!"

In a scenario similar to what occurred at the Sports Festival, the entire front of the giant ice formation exploded upward causing many large chunks of ice falling from the sky.

Around the same time, a torrent of fire came blasting from the newly made hole in the iceberg and directly at the ice chunks. The ice quickly evaporated and expanded at a rapid rate from the high temperature, causing a rapid expansion of air and creating a thick cloud of water vapor.

When the pressure wave ceased, Sherry had taken a hold of Shoto's shirt and used a Category 3 Gale Storm to quickly get them through the cloud of vapor. This, however, didn't go unnoticed by their opponent as he began to pursue them from the top of the power lines.

'Their plan was to create a smokescreen using water vapor from Todoroki's Quirks, then to have Teikiatsu get them out of there?' the Erasure Hero contemplated. 'A creative plan, but unless they can follow that up, they're as good as finished.'

That was when he got the follow up to that plan.

When he cleared the cloud of water vapor, he found himself facing an ice wall created by Shoto. Seeing as it only covered the opening to an intersection, all Shota had to do was drop down to one of the houses and go around it. When he went to clear the street to get to another house to continue his pursuit, he barely caught the sound of ice forming from beneath him. He managed to avoid the attack by using his capture scarf to pull him towards a power line. Seeing his attacker in the middle of the intersection, he immediately nullified Shoto's Quirk and hanged him from the nearby power lines after quickly wrapping him up with his capture weapon.

It was then he realized his mistake after a quick look around. First, Sherry was nowhere to be seen, and the sound of rushing wind was a good indicator that she just made her escape. Second, there was an ice wall between the Erasure Hero and Shoto, and the exit to the area, which means he couldn't erase Sherry's Quirk even if she was within range of his own. And lastly, by making the split second decision to capture Shoto, he had ensured his students had accomplished their Practical Exam.

"Well, I'm not one to admit defeat, but you both did a decent job," he said as he let out a sigh.

It was then a loud speaker made an announcement throughout the area.

 **"TEAM TEIKIATSU AND TODOROKI HAVE PASSED THE PRACTICAL EXAM."**

 _Vlad King vs. Ochako Uraraka and Hajikeru Utakata_

"Okay," Hajikeru said as he panted. "That was… useful."

The duo had ran parallel to the wall of the Collapsed Zone before running back into the arena, broken streets and buildings surrounding them as they hid out under a bridge a short distance from the exit.

"At least we learned something useful about Kan-sensei's Quirk," Ochako sighed in pain as she rubbed one of her feet. Since she had to sacrifice one of her boots to escape the Blood Hero, the brunette was running half barefoot for the last minute or so. It really didn't do her any favors since the entire arena was covered in rubble. In short, her foot was killing her from the brisk jog away from the Pro Hero.

"But now the problem is: how do we capture Vlad King-sensei? It's obvious he's not going to let us leave. Did you see that blood wall? I mean, how does he even use that much blood without passing out?"

"Utakata, I don't think now is the time to figure out how Kan-sensei can do that right now."

Hajikeru snapped his eyes over to his partner when she stopped him from rambling, causing his to lightly blush in embarrassment. "You're right, you're right. We have to focus. How much time do we have?"

"Um…" Ochako went to check one of her wrists, only to remember she didn't wear a wristwatch with her Hero outfit. "Oh… I… want to say we have 20 minutes left."

"It definitely feels like 10 minutes have passed. Okay, that should be plenty of time to think of a plan."

"Have any ideas?"

The pink-eyed teen held his gaze to the ground in a thinking position for a moment before looking his partner in the eyes.

"I have… something. Not sure over how much you're going to like it, though."

"Whatever it is, we can do it!"

He let out a breath before telling Ochako of his plan.

 _Later_

Now that he had used up the element of surprise on his opponents, Seikijiro didn't find any use over getting the drop on them. Thus he stood imposingly in front of the exit arch, simply waiting for the team of two to come to him. He also transformed the blood wall he erected earlier, reverting it back to its liquid state. It put strain on his arms to keep it up for longer than a minute.

'Those two weren't didn't seem like they had a plan when they encountered me,' he thought as he scanned the streets. 'If I had to guess, they were testing what my Quirk can do from their reaction after my initial attack. At least they're smart enough to think that far ahead.'

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a loud pop, followed by a large mass of cyan and black came charging at him as a fast rate. The bubble teen appeared to be hovering for a brief moment as he approached the Blood Hero before he touched the ground with one of his hands. In his hands was an Orange-Type Proximity Bubble, which he used to get a midair jump over Seikijiro. As he was over his opponent, he detonated another Proximity Bubble in his other hand directly opposite of the exit. That propelled him right in the direction of the exit.

Seeing what the pink-eyed teen had been intending to do, the large Hero repeated what he did earlier. Tensing up his arms, the streams of blood rose and solidified into a strong barrier. Hajikeru hit the wall full force, a heavy impact being heard as he hit it feet first.

To the Pro Hero's surprise, though, instead of falling to the ground, the bubble-Quirk user quickly created and detonated a Grapefruit 2 Pressure Bubble, which sent him back to the Blood Hero.

'What is he planning?' Seikijiro questioned as he prepared himself to counter his young opponent. As Hajikeru got close to him, the Blood Hero threw one of his arms forward and expended a small amount of blood, enough to cover his opponent's mouth. Before he could finish the move, however, Hajikeru managed to beat him to the punch by making another Orange-Type Pressure Bubble, which sent him downward onto the broken street. From there, he produced two Grapefruit-Type Proximity Bubbles, one for each hand. From there, he put one into each of his hand and threw them forward towards his older, more experienced opponent.

But Vlad King was ready for it.

He threw both of his arms forward, expending enough blood to cover both of their hands and the bubbles his opponent was using. Right as his hands made contact with the bubble and his blood solidified; it detonated with turrets of wind bursting from the sides of their entrapped hands. Seikijiro had remembered to create vents in his makeshift cuffs to avoid having crystallized blood shrapnel from going everywhere.

It was then he felt himself go nearly weightless did he realize what the bubble teen's role on the plan was. He was a decoy while his partner went for his back.

Behind the Pro Hero was Ochako, though she looked a bit rugged from just having been launched from the bridge all the way to her partner's location. Having to stop herself with only one boot only made the situation more difficult that it needed to be.

"Nice *cough* nice timing, Uraraka," Hajikeru said in a dry voice. Having to make all those Special Bubbles on top of the Watermelon-Type Proximity Bubble in the beginning of the match really didn't do any favors to his mouth or throat. He was just thankful his plan worked with how crudely it was put together.

Ochako simply gave him a thumbs-up as she lifted up their opponent to cuff his leg with the issued handcuffs.

"Well, I know when to concede defeat within the parameters," Vlad King spoke as Ochako released her Quirk on both Hajikeru and the Blood Hero.

 **"** **TEAM URARAKA AND UTAKATA HAVE PASSED THE PRACTICAL EXAM!"**

 **AN: Sooooo, if you hadn't seen my chapter update on my other story, 'Hakai and Souzou', I took an extended break from fanfiction and writing in general because of how little came out of my writing sessions. 'Oh sure, OmegaBox. Blame the writer's block.' I can and I will blame the writer's block. Anyway, the Final Exams are wrapped up, cleanly, I hope. And just a little heads up, I am planning on releasing a filler chapter after this one. It's mostly going to consist of the trip to the mall, I-Island (I have something fun in store for that), and the pool trip before we get back on track for the Summer Camp Arc. Plenty of the good stuff bound for that arc. I just had to get through this one first. Anyway, I should be able to get the next chapter out sooner than I did this one since I don't feel as restricted as I was in this chapter, but no promises. OmegaBox, out!**

 **-OmegaBox**


	20. The Summer Camp Arc Pt 1

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

*Sniff* *Sniff* "I… I hope… you have a great time… a-at camp, you guys," Mina stuttered out as she lightly cried. She had been one of the few students that failed the practical exam, along with Denki, Rikido, and Eijiro. Tooru was slowly rocking her in an effort to calm her down. "This sucks… so much…"

"D-don't worry you guys!" Izuku said as he tried to ease their despaired minds. "Maybe there's an unexpected twist here somewhere."

"Don't say that, Midoriya!" Hanta shouted out. "You'll jinx it!"

"I mean, this is Aizawa-sensei we're talking about," Hajikeru offhandedly said. "He made us think one of us was going to get expelled on the first day of class. Why wouldn't he make an unexpected twist?"

"Because you speak it, you jinx it, Utakata," Denki weakly said from his desk. "We didn't pass the Practical, so that means we don't go to the Forest Lodge and we're going to be stuck in remedial hell. Ugh… my head."

The blond still had a massive headache from the studying he had to do with Denryoku the past week and it really affected him down during his Practical Exam with Principal Nezu. He made several intelligent decisions during the test, such as overloading the main power generator to the arena, therefore cutting their opponent off from using the crane or any heavy machinery, and acting as a distraction when the mammalian principal was driving a surprisingly fast forklift with an electromagnet fastened to the front. Unfortunately, they ran out of time before any of those decisions could be paid off with a victory.

"You say that, but I'm not so sure about it," Hanta added. "I mean, we passed our Practical, but Mineta did all the work. All I did was get knocked out by Midnight's gas."

Nearby, Minoru was looking smug in his accomplishment.

"When class begins, you should be in your seats," Shota loudly spoke when he opened the sliding doors with a loud 'clack'. Almost instantly, the Class 1-A students shuffled into their seats. "2.10 seconds. Better, but still not good enough."

The students were still confused over why he constantly carried a stopwatch now, but didn't have the nerve to ask.

"Regarding your End of Term Exams, I hate to say that several of you have failed. That being said…"

The disappointed looks on those that failed the Practical were further emphasized as the Erasure Hero spoke, almost begging him to stop the humiliation.

"Everyone's going to the Forest Lodge!"

"EHHHH?!"

Whatever the flunkies were expecting, it was not that.

"No one failed the Written Exam. I was even impressed with the vast improvement with one of you. But for the Practical Exam, Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, Satou, and Sero failed."

Hanta groaned in disappointment at hearing his name, admitting that it made sense in a pessimistic way.

"As your opponents for the exams, the teachers had left you a way to win while at the same time gauging how you faced the challenges we set for each of you. If we went all out in these exams, even with the weights, you would have been crushed before you had a chance to think."

"Wait, so when you said you weren't going to show us mercy…" Mashirao said, putting the pieces together in his head.

"It was to drive you into a corner and see how you would have acted. The Forest Lodge was a Summer Boot Camp to begin with, so it wouldn't make any sense for those that failed the Practical to not attend as well."

"Don't tell me it was a—" Hajikeru was cut off before he could finish his question.

"It was a Logical Ruse!" There was the signature shit-eating-grin he displayed on the first day of class.

The class as a whole groaned at that phrase.

"And now I officially hate that phrase."

"Sensei, are you not concerned over our trust in you wavering if you continue with these ruses?" Tenya called out.

"And there's Iida being a stick in the mud," Ochako said to no one in particular.

"You're not entirely wrong," the Erasure Hero explained with an even tone. "Even if I did say that you were all going, those that failed aren't exempted from any extra work. You five are going to go through special remedial classes. And let me just say, you would have been better off if you took them here on campus."

The previously joyous faces on the five were replaced with ones of disappointment when they heard their homeroom teacher say they weren't as free as they thought. They, along with their classmates and friends, were given brochures about the accommodations and required supplies for the training camp.

 _Several Days Later_

In an unexpected turn of events, the shopping mall that Class 1-A agreed to going to for their supplies for the training camp was temporarily closed due to an appearance from one Tomura Shigaraki. The high priority villain had taken Izuku hostage and threatened him with the murder of many innocent lives, unless they had a simple chat. After some time, Ochako, accompanied by Hajikeru, Mezo, and Fumikage, had found them and called the proper authorities when Tomura unexpectedly left without issue. The group of friends was briefly questioned, but they needed to bring Izuku in to the police station for questioning on Tomura.

All in all, the entire trip was a wash.

The next day was the official last day of the term. The Erasure Hero had informed the class that the location of the summer camp would have to be changed to a different location, one that won't be announced until the day of. The decision came with some resistance, but they couldn't do anything about it. After the exit ceremony, everyone was given the rest of the day off.

The following Monday, a group consisting of Mezo, Hajikeru, Momo, Denki, Minoru, and Kyoka participated in an optional Hero's course over the week break before the summer camp. It was a mission in which the Heroes-in Training are tasked in rescuing four hostages, played by Ectoplasm and his clones, in a highrise building from a gang of 20 gunmen, also played by Ectoplasm and his clones. The plan was to have one team handle negotiations with the gunmen while a second team infiltrate the building and rescue the hostages without raising alarm.

The plan never got past the first stage as the infiltration team had completely failed at the stealth aspect. When Denki felt something scurry into his pants, he accidentally discharged his electricity into the metal pipe. This electrified Kyoka and Minoru into unconsciousness, and the exercise had to be called off in order to take the two unintended victims to Recovery Girl.

When they came to, Kyoka had jabbed Denki in the eyes with her earphone jacks before leaving to change out of her Hero outfit. Minoru was a bit more forgiving, but was still a bit angry. Denki wanted to make it up to his partner in crime by showing him some job offerings on I-Island. The overall payment was pretty good for the days before and during the Tech Expo, and the travel expenses were covered. Out of good will, he also invited Hajikeru and Mezo to see if they wanted to go to the island for work.

The bubble teen had agreed on the spot, while the multi-armed teen denied the offer but still informed them that he will be on the island with Fumikage. The reason why the sentient-shadow user was going to the artificial island in the first place was because his parents forced him to go on a vacation and he was allowed a plus-one.

While they were there, a coordinated villain attack caused the entire island to go into lock down. Those students that were attending the dinner party took it upon themselves to stop the villains and take back the island. With the help of Melissa Shield, daughter of esteemed scientist David Shield, they succeeded in liberating the island and take down the mastermind behind the attack.

 **(Yes, I just poorly abridged the entirety of what I had planned for I-Island because I'm too impatient to go through it all. I didn't have much different to say here, so… yeah, just roll with it. I'll make some callbacks in the coming chapters… Yeah, really don't have a lot to say about this. Again, I got too impatient for some stuff I'm too excited to hold off on this any longer… Seriously, these notes have been sitting in my laptop for over six months… Yes, I am aware that I fail at life.)**

It was one day before the Summer Trip begins, so the students decided to make the best of it. Starting with a text message from Izuku.

 _Hoth District_

Lying face down on the living room couch was Hajikeru, contemplating life.

"Did I tell you how I spent the entire lockdown figuring out how to play Uno?" he asked his best friend with a lack of energy.

He was referring to the time he, Mezo, and Fumikage were forced to remain inside a hotel during the I-Island lockdown. During that time, they discovered Mina, Tooru, and Tsuyu had a room there, due to Momo's arrangements. While they were there, Hajikeru tried to learn how to play Uno. And somehow it took an entire hour for him to figure it out, much to Tooru's and Mina's frustration. Tsuyu, Mezo, and Fumikage had played four games by the time Hajikeru learned how to play without tripping over himself.

Denryoku, meanwhile, was lounging on his computer chair that he brought out from their room.

"Yes, several times, actually," he replied, not looking up from his book. "I don't need to be reminded of your incompetency, Haji."

"Shut up. I'm bored. Tomorrow can't come fast enough."

Removing his eyes from his novel, the dark haired teen replied with, "You know our Quirks are going to be put through the wringer by the time the summer camp comes around, right?"

"I'd rather take that over being bored."

Denryoku simply hummed with obvious doubt. He knew Hajikeru enough to know he would be eating his words later when the time comes.

"So, how did that fake date go with Kodai?" the bubble teen asked.

"It convinced her parents to leave her alone."

"Cool."

It was then that both of their phones gave off their respected message indicators.

"Midoriya?" the bubble teen asked in confusion as he unlocked his phone. "U.A. pool for extra training before the summer camp?"

"I got the same," Denryoku said after he unlocked his device. "Haji, are you—"

Seeing as his best friend likely dashed into their room to get what he needed, Denryoku simply let out a shrug before going off and doing the same.

 _About an hour later_

 _U.A. High_

Since it was the middle of a weekday, the train ride to U.A. was pleasantly vacant. Both of them even ran into Juzo and Setsuna on the way there. They were on the way to kidnap— uh, invite Denryoku out for a day out before the training camp when the duo ran into them at one of the stations. Seeing as the plan was better than what they had in mind, they decided to go along for the ride.

"What's up, 1-A!" Setsuna called out as she exited the oddly long tunnel from the locker rooms, causing those present to look in confusion.

"Hey, isn't she from Class 1-B?" Mashirao asked as he was helping Koji stretch.

"Yeah, what's she doing here?" Rikido questioned as well. "I thought Midoriya only invited our class."

"That's on me!" Hajikeru called out as he, Denryoku, and Juzo came out to the sun. "Me and Denryo got the message, but we ran into them on the way, so it would have been rude if we didn't invite them over."

"Sorry if we're intruding on something private," Juzo said with an apologetic tone as he scratched the back of his head, his skeletal grin not faulting once.

"It's totally fine!" Mina called out as she and the other girls, sans Sherry, were stretching. "Come on over! We can get to know you while we wait for the others!"

"Awesome!" Setsuna shouted as she ran over to join the other girls.

When everyone was getting settled into stretching for their 'pool' training, Shoto decided to go over to where Juzo was situated.

"Hey," the heterochromic teen said, gaining Juzo's attention.

"Hm? You need something, Todoroki?" he asked with full attention.

"I just wanted to apologize for what I did during the Sports Festival. I wasn't in the right mind during our match. I was going through something tough and I went overboard."

Oddly enough, when Shoto finished his apology, Juzo went back to stretching as if nothing had happened.

"Okay. Then I'm sorry for sinking you into the cement."

As expected, Shoto was taken aback by the lipless teen just told him. Juzo decided to elaborate a bit further at what he just said.

"If you're going to apologize for freezing me with your Quirk, then I'm apologizing for sinking you into the cement with mine. It's the Sports Festival. No one's going to know if you had a good day or bad day that day. And besides, I'm completely over it. Losing just drives me to be better."

At hearing that his former opponent didn't a grudge, Shoto felt completely guiltless from his behavior during the Sports Festival. The big one was with his match against Sherry and now that he got to talk to Juzo, he felt relieved that it wasn't hanging over his head anymore. He was a different person then compared to now and he wanted to prove it.

"There you are slowpokes!" Tenya called out as Denki and Minoru came crashing out of the locker rooms.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Minoru yelled out in surprise to every one of the guys.

"I thought it would be helpful for everyone to get some endurance training before the training camp tomorrow," Izuku replied.

"I also brought some plus ones with me," Hajikeru called out as he was doing his stretches. "Hope that's fine."

It was then they noticed the additions to the group.

"Hey, why is he here!?" Minoru asked in an irritated tone when he spotted Denryoku.

"I'm here to spy on Class 1-A," he replied without looking up or missing a beat. While every one of the guys was giving him weird looks, Hajikeru and Juzo were both snickering at their friend's joke.

"I knew it!"

"Oh lighten up, little guy," Setsuna said as she sauntered over to Denki and Minoru. Immediately, the little pervert's attention was on her and her school-issued swimsuit. "My dear old Vice Rep, as serious as he may be, is only joking."

"Is she doing the thing?" Hajikeru whispered two the two 1-B students.

"She's doing the thing," Denryoku quietly replied, Juzo nodding his head furiously.

"Maybe our classes got off on the wrong foot," the greenette continued, not at all paying attention at the lecherous look she was receiving from Minoru. Denki, on the other hand, was diverting his eyes away from her, as if he knew what was to come. "How about we get to know each other a little better? I'm Setsuna Tokage. What's your name?"

"M-Minoru Mineta," the grape boy replied, almost salivating waterfalls.

She replied with a 'Nice to meet you' and stuck out her hand to shake his.

Minoru felt like he was in heaven. Despite the other girls not showing up in bikinis like he and Denki expected, he was feeling euphoric at meeting one of the many beauties that resided in Class 1-B. And she wanted to get to know him better! This was easily the best day of his life.

That was immediately brought to a halt when her hand fell off from her arm and onto the ground.

There was a brief pause in activity to see what had just happened. Minoru looked completely mortified at the severed hand, as did those that didn't know what was happening.

"Crap, not again," Setsuna hissed in irritation as she looked at her handless wrist. When she looked at the little grape boy, she decided to stick her other hand towards him. When he went for that hand, it too fell from the wrist. Now she was completely handless. "Would you prefer if we shook stumps?"

"N-n-n-no, its fine," Minoru said, completely mortified at the sight of the severed hands.

"Okay, if you say s-s-so—" Setsuna let out a loud sneeze, which caused her head to go flying backwards into the pool. Her severed head came floating after a second of submersion, her faced etched into a terrified expression. Her headless body remained standing, twitching slightly.

If people weren't screaming then, they were screaming now.

Meanwhile, Hajikeru, Juzo, Denki, and most of the girls were laughing their heads off ( **pun intended** ) at everyone else's expressions when Setsuna's head came floating on top of the water. Said head was also laughing until her body's sides hurt, even if it was on the other side of the pool.

"Oooooh, you should have seen the look on your faces!" the greenette said as her separated body parts reassembled onto their respective places, still laughing a small bit.

"That was highly inappropriate for a practical joke!" Tenya called out.

"Oh lighten up, you cold lizard!"

"What did you call me?!"

And after they calmed down to a passable degree, mostly everyone moved on from the horrific comedy routine.

 _Two Hours Later_

While the girls were playing around on one end of the pool, the guys were doing laps on the other side of the pool, alternating between one another for laps since there were a limited number of lanes. One of them would do one entire lap without their Quirks and when they finished, whoever was next would do their lap and so on. This went on for about two hours and by that time; everyone had at least five laps each.

Both Denki and Minoru groaned in exhaustion as they collapsed on the cement.

"You guys are slave drivers," said a tired Minoru.

"I've never been this tired before in my life," added electric blond.

"You guys really don't do this often, do you?" Hajikeru asked as he was taking slow breaths.

"Everyone!" Tenya exclaimed as he showed everyone a cooler. "I've brought refreshments. I assumed everyone would be parched by now, so take as much as you want."

He received thanks from his fellow classmates for his consideration, which Tenya took in stride.

"Hey, Denryo," Hajikeru asked as he downed the can of orange juice. "You got the stopwatch?"

"Yup," the electro teen simply replied, holding up the gadget by a strap around his neck. "Going to see if you can break your record?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, have at it."

And with that, the bubble teen hopped into the pool and sank to the bottom like a stone. This drew a few eyes to his direction, including the girls when they stopped playing with the beach ball.

"Hey, Emera," Mezo called out. "What's Utakata doing? Shouldn't he be taking a break?"

"He _is_ taking a break," Denryoku simply replied. "He's not doing anything strenuous, if that's what you referred to, Shouji. He's just holding his breath to break his previous record."

"So, he's doing this for fun?" Mashirao asked as he was lazily waving his tail.

The tailed teen received a stiff nod in response.

"So… what's Utakata's record?" the blond asked.

"13 minutes, 26 seconds."

Everyone within earshot of the deadpanned response widened their eyes in surprise at hearing Denryoku's response.

"What?! How?!"

"Expanded lung capacity from his Quirk training. For someone that exhales as much as he does, it's really not that surprising."

And once again, the electro Quirk user was silent and no longer giving off information. Everyone else was still processing over how Hajikeru was able to pull off a feat.

"You better be ready, Deku!" a voice all too familiar to everyone called out. "Because next time, I'm going to annihilate you!" Lo and behold, Katsuki Bakugo has arrived to kick ass and stuff.

"What's up, everyone!" Sherry called out as she held back Katsuki from prematurely killing Izuku.

"Hey, sorry we're late!" Eijiro said as he also held the blond back. "It took some convincing to get this guy out of the house."

"What were you guys up to before coming here? If you don't mind me asking," Shoto asked.

"None of your business, Icy-Hot!" Katsuki roared at one of his nemeses.

"Sleepover at Baku-Bro's/Boy's!" Eijiro and Sherry both called out, much to the explosive blond's annoyance.

"What!?" Denki exclaimed. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"Because it was spontaneous and he would have most likely left you to sleep in the yard," Sherry said with a gleeful tone.

"I think he likes having us around if he let us sleep in his room, huh, man?" Eijiro asked the blond in question.

"You'll die by my hands, Stupid Hair," Katsuki growled.

"See?"

"You two are painfully optimistic," Fumikage muttered.

"So, what the hell are you pansies doing for training?" Katsuki asked with his usual bite.

"Hey, this stuff is exhausting," Denki spoke up. "Cut us a break."

"That pathetic?"

"Oh, c'mon!"

"Well, he does have a point," said Tenya as he pondered the thought. He then got an idea to make the training more entertaining. "I have an idea, everyone! Why don't we make this a competition? First one to get to the end of the pool wins?"

Everyone appeared to be on board for the proposal. And aside from Tsuyu moving Hajikeru to the other side of the pool, as he couldn't allow himself to move in order to preserve oxygen, the races were underway. To pretty much everyone's misfortune, the parameters surrounding the rules completely slipped by everyone. Therefore, Katsuki and Shoto managed to win their respect races without even touching the water. The only winner that did it legitimately was Izuku.

And just as the three qualifiers were about to decide the winner, they were abruptly cut off when their homeroom teacher interrupted their fun by erasing their Quirks. Unfortunately, this also meant that their time to use the pool was up.

This also meant Hajikeru came up short to breaking his record, much to his annoyance.

 _Next Day_

After resting from the endurance training they had yesterday, the Class 1-A students were gathered around the school parking lot. They were given a quick rundown over the rules regarding the summer camp and then they were allowed to socialize while they waited for the bus that would take them to the training camp.

"Deku!" Ochako called out as she ran to the greenette. "This is sooo exciting! Are you excited?" As if on cue, a familiar yellow background with petals floating in the background appeared behind the brunette.

"Y-yeah!" Izuku replied with a crimson face. At least his face wasn't scrunching up like it did the previous two times Ochako used her 'Girl's Charm'. "I-I'm excited for th-this, U-Uraraka." 'She's too close.'

When Ochako opened her eyes from her closed eyed smile, she saw Izuku's face completely red, which meant she accidentally used her female-exclusive move on him. She blushed in embarrassment as she shut it off. "Sorry about that, Deku. I can't help it sometimes."

The meek teen simply waved it off as he tried to calm his hammering heart.

"They're so cute together~," Mina dreamily sighed as she observed her two friends. From beside her, Hajikeru and Tooru had wide smiles and closed eyes as they watched the scene.

It was then Class 1-B made themselves known.

"What's this?" Neito said in all his smug nature. "Did my ears deceive me, or did I hear Class 1-A need supplementary lessons?! Does that mean some of you failed the exam?! I thought Class 1-A was suppose to be better than 1-B! Such a terrible fate you must have felt, huh?!"

Those that failed the practical exam felt the sting from the blond while everyone else is just irritated with his hate banter.

"Monoma," Denryoku called out from behind him. "What did I tell you able riling up Class 1-A?"

"Now, now, Emera. I'm simply encouraging the clowns to be—"

He never finished his sentence when he was struck in the back in the neck by Denryoku. A simple finger strike was all it took to temporarily knock him out, no Quirk required— especially since electricity to the spinal column could prove fatal if given enough voltage.

"To not rile up Class 1-A. Good job, Monoma."

The electro teen definitely drew some sweat-drops from his delivery.

"Sorry about him," Itsuka said to her sister class as she dragged Neito's unconscious body away. "Hopefully he won't too big a pain during this trip."

"That's wishful thinking," Tooru muttered in irritation. "Jerk."

"Hello, again, guys!" Setsuna called out as the rest of the Class 1-B girls arrived. "Hi, Mineta~."

"YOU'RE A WITCH!" Minoru screeched in despair. The greenette simply laughed hysterically at the reply.

"What the heck is with you, Mineta?" Eijiro asked the little grape boy. Said pervert explained how he was bamboozled and played with when Setsuna used her Quirk to scar him in a traumatizing way. This only made the spiky redhead laugh at his expense.

"Is that what you did to that little turd?!" Sherry asked the green haired girl in question when she overheard Minoru explain it to Eijiro. Before that, she was talking to Pony about very trivial and pointless stuff.

"Oooooh, you had to be there, Teikiatsu!" Setsuna spoke in a gleeful tone. "Everyone was spooked when they saw my head float on the pool!"

The sandy blonde simply pouted at not being able to see that wonderfully comedic sight.

"Everyone!" Momo called out. "The buses are arriving! Please gather your belongings and prepare to board in a single file line!"

 _An Hour and a Half Later_

 _Unknown Location_

"So, you two were watching me sleep the entire ride here?" Hajikeru asked Mina and Tooru as they exited the bus. He let out a hefty yawn as he was still a bit tired from his nap.

"Hey, don't blame us for being distracted by the way you sleep, Uta," Mina said in a playful tone. The pinkette was referring to the bubble that Hajikeru unconsciously blew when he was napping on the way there.

"I was so tempted to pop it when it got big enough, but then it popped by itself," Tooru said, physically pouting when she said so. "You're such a party pooper, Utakata."

"I'm simply surprised that a stereotypical trope in animation came to life with you, Utakata," Mezo said in a straightforward manner.

"I'm used to it and I'm okay with it, but I'm not okay with having my friends watch me while I sleep," Hajikeru said in a semi-frightened manner. "It's beyond creepy." Mina pouted at being told she was creepy for watching her friend sleep and Tooru stuck her tongue out. Mezo didn't actually do the deed, so he didn't care.

"What kind of rest stop is this?" Denki asked as they observed the area. It was a wide clearing that overlooked a large forest with wooden guideposts around the drop off. There was a black car parked near the bus the students just got off of.

"And where's Class 1-B?" Sherry asked. "I thought they were right behind us."

"There's a reason for stopping here, Teikiatsu," Shota said.

The doors to the nearby car opened up and out came two women, likely Pro-Heroes, dressed up in cat-themed outfits, complete with gloves that looked like giant cat paws, headsets that looked like mechanical cat ears, and tails from the rear end of their combat skirts.

"With sparkling eyes, your cat themed fantasies are here! Meow!" spoke the brunette of the duo.

"Bad guys tremble, for your fate is in our claws! Nyaaa!" the blonde of the two said with enthusiasm.

"We are… The Wild, Wild Pussycats! Lite Edition!"

A permeating silence overtook the class at seeing the two women pose in such a way. At the same time, a boy that looked no older than six was in the same vicinity of the posing women. He was not posing with them.

"I'd like to introduce you to the Pussycats," the Erasure Hero said. "They're going to be the Pro Heroes assisting you during our time here."

It was then Izuku went into a muttering spree, giving everyone an idea as to who the Wild, Wild Pussycats are. He wanted to go on, but he was cut off when the blonde Pussycat, named PixieBob, grabbed his face when he mentioned their years of service.

"This entire forest is our land," Mandalay, the brunette Pussycat. "You'll be staying at the lodge at the base of that mountain."

"Wow, that is far," Hajikeru said as he leaned on the fencepost to get a better view of the lodge. Even with his better than average sight, he still had trouble distinguishing how far it was. "But then why are we so far away from—" And once again, he was getting a familiar bad feeling like he did during the Quirk Apprehension Test and before the Finals Practical Exam. This time, though, he could act on that bad feeling.

"Hey, let's get back to the bus, yeah?" Hanta nervously said.

"Utakata, what are you doing?" Denki asked as he saw Hajikeru blow up one of his Special Bubbles.

"It's 9:30 right now," Mandalay said with a sinister undertone. "If you hurry, you might make it to the lodge by 12:30."

"Acting on my bad feeling," Hajikeru said when he finished making a Watermelon-2 Reinforced Bubble. "I know what PixieBob's Quirk is. It was on a documentary about—"

"GET BACK TO THE BUS!" Rikido shouted.

"Sorry, everyone," Shota muttered over the panic. "But your school trip has already begun."

At the same time, PixieBob's paws made contact with the ground, which caused the earth around them to shift. It exploded in a tidal wave of dirt almost immediately after, carrying the students down the cliff and into the forest below.

Since Hajikeru was closest to the cliff, he fell and landed first. Thankfully, his bubble held up against his body before popping.

"Just as planned," he said in accomplishment. It didn't last long as two bodies crashed into his back, effectively planting him into the ground as his fellow classmates and friends fell around him.

After the shifting earth settled, everyone could be found scattered about the forested environment save for a few that managed to right themselves in midair on time, aka Katsuki and Sherry.

"By the way!" Mandalay called to the students from above. "This is private land, so feel free to use your Quirks! You all have three hours to get to the lodge! Try not to die in the Forest of Beasts!"

She didn't even wait for a response before leaving the students to their devices.

"Well, that fall wasn't so bad," Denki spoke as he shook some dirt from his hair.

"Why the hell did you grab me, idiot?!" Kyoka said as she got up in anger. "I could've broken something if you fell on me!"

"B-but you didn't. Everything worked out fine, right?"

"Ow…" Hajikeru groaned in pain. Seeing as the two landed on one of their classmates, both Kyoka and Denki saw fit to get him on his feet. He didn't looked too roughed up, as the earth PixieBob used was still loose around them, though he did look a bit disoriented. A large imprint of his head remained on the ground.

"You okay, Utakata?" Denki asked in comedic concern to his friend. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four," he said in irritation. "Any other stupid questions you want to ask me, Kaminari?"

"Yeah, okay, he's fine."

"I'VE HELD IT FOR LONG ENOUGH!" Minoru yelled in desperation. "THIS IS A FOREST, RIGHT!? NO ONE WILL NOTICE IF I GO HERE!"

The little grape teen's path was intercepted by a large beast with large tusks and large paws that resembled hands. It had an earthy appearance that made it look ancient, which only made it look more terrifying.

It seemed like Minoru no longer needed to use the bathroom.

"IT'S A BEAST!"

"There, there, beast!" Koji said as he tried to communicate with the behemoth. "Please calm down and leave us be!"

Seeing as the shy boy's Quirk wasn't working on the beast, some of the students took the initiative and destroyed the sentient dirt creature. It was there that the students realized they needed to work together to get through the forest and reach the lodge by the anointed time. Knowing what their roles are, the students leapt into action.

 _Many Hours Later_

 _Forest Lodge_

It was late afternoon when Class 1-A finally reached the three story lodge, a good eight or nine hours from when they first started making their way through the forest. And everyone was either exhausted or completely wiped out.

When they first started out, everything was going well. The reconnaissance Quirk users were calling out targets, those with distractive Quirks drew the beast's attention, supportive Quirk users set up or captured the beasts, and those with destructive Quirks typically finished them off. The process never stayed that way, but they always managed to take them down. And seeing as it was easy once they got the rhythm down, Class 1-A believed it was going to be a piece of cake.

That was before they hit the three hour mark, and by then, everyone was exhausted. No other beasts came after them after that, but they were still so far away from the lodge. And since they were completely wiped out, the best thing they could do is trudge their way to the lodge.

Hajikeru completely dried out his throat to the point of being unable to speak more than a few words. He had Tooru on his back and Minoru under one of his arms, the one that wasn't strained. The little pervert collapsed of exhaustion an hour ago and Tooru had asked him if she could hitch a ride on him since she couldn't walk another step. Normally, Hajikeru would be flustered over what that meant, but he was too tired to care. And who was he to deny a friend in need?

"Well, it's about time you arrived!" PixieBob called out to the exhausted students.

"Two and a half hours, my ass!" Hanta said in anger.

"I'm going to starve!" Eijiro spoke in despair. "I think I'm dying!"

"I guess we were going by our standards rather than yours," Mandalay said with a minor air of superiority. "My mistake!"

"Way to make us feel bad, lady," Sherry muttered as she was supporting a completely drained Momo. She had used up her lipids an hour ago, so the sandy blonde decided to help her move when there were no more threats. She herself had some light scratches and cuts from overusing her Quirk. Apparently, her control suffers the longer she uses her Quirk, even if she used Category 3 and below. It only took two hours of repeated use of 'Cyclone' for it to occur to her. **(Note: Her control over her Quirk includes avoiding having the swirling winds make contact with her skin, ergo the cuts when she uses Category 4 and 5. It's not just power output. I should post a freakin' list of the OC's abilities. Why haven't I done that yet?)**

"But I'm surprised," PixieBob said with a menacing tone. "You all made it here earlier than I expected. You figured out what my beasts were so quickly and you worked so well together. But the five of you…" She referred to Izuku, Katsuki, Tenya, Shoto, and Sherry. "Your lack of hesitation and indecisiveness… It must come with experience. Well done! And as for you four…" Her face went from menacing to one that screamed desperation. "I'm calling dibs right now! I can't wait to see what kind of husband material you all will grow into!"

The blonde Pussycat starting doting over the four teens while Momo and Sherry shuffled away with looks of contempt. They hoped they don't grow up to be that desperate.

"Wow, talk about desperate," Tooru said in a tired voice. Those that heard her couldn't help but nod at that.

It was then Izuku recognized the kid, whose name was Kota, that was with the two Pussycats earlier in the day. When he went to introduce himself to the boy, he punched him full on in the family jewels. It resonated with most of the boys in the class, as they flinched hard at the impact. It even woke up Minoru, who claimed that he felt a disturbance, as if someone tried to take away someone's manhood.

"Ouch…" Hajikeru croaked in discomfort as he saw what transpired. Tooru felt it appropriate to pat him on the head in a form of comfort. He had so much to say and do as a joke, yet he was limited to a few words due to his Quirk's drawbacks.

"Midoriya!" Tenya called out in shock, ignoring his burned out engines as he rushed to his downed friend. "You brute! How can you do that to Midoriya's genitals?!"

"I don't want anything to do with a bunch of shitty, wannabe Heroes," the boy growled at the glasses wearing teen.

"Shitty?! Where did you learn to speak like that?!"

"That kid's got spunk," Katsuki said with an oddly proud look.

"I think I know where he learned to speak like that," Shoto said as he looked at the blond.

"You want to say that to my face, Icy-Hot?!"

"Okay. I think I know—"

"I didn't mean it, dumbass!"

"For shame, Baku-Boy," Sherry berated with a mock-frown. "And I thought you were above teaching children to swear."

"I don't even know the kid, Air-Head! How the fuck would that even work?!"

"Yelling at the top of your lungs without giving a damn over who's hearing, perhaps?"

Katsuki's vein over his eyebrow bulged at that suggestion.

"Enough," the Erasure Hero said. "Take your luggage from the bus and bring them to your rooms. After that, get dinner at the dining hall, take a bath, and relax. Tomorrow is when the real deal starts, so enjoy this while you still can."

 _20 Minutes Later_

It was a short time later that Class 1-B arrived at the lodge, a good handful of minutes after Class 1-A arrived. And like the situation with their sister class, everyone was either exhausted or completely wiped out after traveling for eight hours.

Everyone limped out of the forest with their own sets of minor injuries, ranging from drawbacks due to their own Quirks or from the beasts themselves. Itsuka's hands were cramped up; Ibara's hair was shoulder-length instead of reaching her waist; Reiko was feeling lightheaded from the nosebleeds that came from overusing Poltergeist; Pony was missing her horns (overuse or destruction leaves her without her Quirk as she grows them back); Yui's wrist, elbows, and shoulders were aching from overusing her Quirk; Koniko's hair was dried up from using too many of her spores (not to mention the rest of her class had to avoid being around her when she does use her Quirk, considering she has a bad habit of going all out when she doesn't need to); and Setsuna was feeling incredibly sluggish, almost like she was about to literally fall apart.

Denryoku's arms were feeling incredibly sensitive from constantly regenerating electricity over the three hour combat period; Yosetsu was feeling disoriented from welding so many beasts to the ground; Tetsutetsu was suffering from iron deficiency and physical exhaustion; Sen's arms and legs felt like they were made of lead; Koosei's chest hurt from making so many solid air constructs; Neito… was fine, apparently, just exhausted; Hiryuu's skin felt itchy and jagged; Juurouta's intelligence tanked from using Beast for an extended time, though his mannerisms remained intact; Togaru was suffering from muscle spasms from producing so many blades on his body; Kojiro was more quiet than usual, but was otherwise fine, aside from the obvious exhaustion; Shihai was nauseous from diving into shadows over and over again; Nirengeki didn't have any injuries apart from tiredness, but he was moving slower than usual; Manga was rendered mute from using too many of his action onomatopoeias; and Hitoshi's entire body was completely sore, due to how not up to par his body is compared to his fellow Hero class.

To his surprise, during the time in the forest, he had graced a nosebleed from controlling Koniko for a solid 20 minutes. He was asked to do so by Denryoku since he wasn't aware of the girl's lack of restraint.

Standing in front of the lodge and the parked bus was their homeroom teacher and the two members of the Pussycats they met up with earlier in the day. The female of the two was Tomoko Shiretoko, aka Ragdoll, a petite woman with green, flowing hair and yellow eyes. She was wearing a yellow version of the Pussycat's sailor uniform.

The male of the two was Yawara Chatora, aka Tiger, a hulking behemoth of a man with black markings around his white eyes and short, slick-backed, brown hair. He was wearing a brown version of the sailor uniform.

"Helloooooo, Class 1-B!" enthusiastically spoke the shorter of the two Pussycats. "I hope you enjoyed your time in the Magical Forest of Magical Creatures!"

"Magical creatures!?" Tetsutetsu cried out. "Those things were crumbling everywhere! How are they magical!?"

"Those beasts were just constructs from PixieBob's Quirk, weren't they?" Denryoku stated as he hissed at the slight movements his arms made. "They mentioned your group in a documentary I saw a few months ago."

"And you couldn't have told us this before, because…?" Togaru asked as he left the question hanging.

"It wouldn't have made a difference if we knew how they were made or by whom they were made by, Kamakiri. The only objective we had at the time was to get to the lodge, no questions asked."

"Pardon your riveting analysis, Emera…" Neito began.

"You're not sorry."

"…but I must ask: Where are Class 1-A? Don't tell me they got lost in the forest and we beat them here by a mile!? That would be so devastating to their pride as—"

"Eraserhead's kids already made it here before you lot did, Monoma," Vlad King cut in with irritation. "They arrived about 20 minutes ago ahead of our class."

"Well, if they arrived here before us, then they must have had a head start! Surely your timing must have been off when you sent us down the mountain, PussyCat!"

"Are you looking for some early training, young man?" Tiger said in a gruff and oddly excited voice as he held up a muscular arm. "Because I would be more than happy to oblige your wishes."

Seeing as the large man was singling him out, Neito smartly kept his mouth shut after that.

"Awwwww, I think Tiger likes you, kitten!" Ragdoll excitedly called out. "You must be so excited to train with us!"

"The boy may not be a power-type, but he isn't exactly packing any muscles either. Perhaps tomorrow, he could join me and the others in my litter into achieving 'Plus Ultra'."

There were quiet groans amongst the students over the cat jokes, hoping this wasn't going to be a common occurrence with the group of Heroes.

"We've already made arrangements for the students' training, Tiger," the Blood Hero said. "That won't be necessary."

"Well, alright, Vlad. He should still consider bulking up. He looks like he could get mauled by a housecat."

"He might not be wrong about that," Setsuna snickered out.

"Everyone, grab your things and report to your assigned rooms," Vlad King said over the quiet laughter. "You'll be getting dinner first and then a bath. After that, take the time to relax. You're going to need for tomorrow."

 _Meanwhile_

"THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD!"

Everyone in Class 1-A was enjoying a fantastically made buffet by the two Pussycats. After going through the training equivalent of hell to get to the lodge, it was the closest thing to heaven they can get.

"Jeez, Uta," Mina jokingly said as she saw her bubble blowing friend down his third glass of freshly squeezed juice. "Save some for the rest of us, would ya?"

"I can't help it!" he replied with excitement. He was stuffing his face with rice and some beef slices as he spoke. "I finally get to hydrate my mouth for the first time today! You know how hard it was to limit myself to a few words to avoid a coughing fit!?"

"I don't know, but I found the quiet nice!" Tooru happily said from beside him.

Hajikeru replied by flicking her head with no power behind it. He received a quiet whine and giggle as a response.

"THIS FOOD IS ABSOLUTELY HEAVENLY!" Eijiro shouted with glee. "I FEEL LIKE I CAN EAT THIS FOREVER!"

"I'm glad you like it," PixieBob said as she passed by with more food. "Enjoy this while you can, boys. It'll be the last time we cook for you. You're gonna do it for the rest of your time here."

"Here's hoping they don't put me on cooking duty," Sherry muttered in English, hoping no one heard or understood her.

"If they do, we can always switch, Teikiatsu," Momo said from beside her. "I'm marginally proficient with a stovetop."

Sherry sat there frozen in shock, having forgotten how good Momo's English was. It made her feel even stupider since she was the one that taught everyone proper English when the subject came up during one of their tutoring sessions.

 _Later_

"Gentlemen," Minoru muttered as he stared longingly at the wall that divided the boy's bath from the girls'. "For hundreds of years, we have walked this land in search of true happiness. Many things have tried to fill that void, but they never lasted."

Some of the boys were wondering what the little grape perv was preaching on about as they were relaxing in the bath.

"But after so many years of searching for that happiness, they discovered the secret. The perfect combination of desire, lust, and danger! The secret to true happiness…

"…is beyond this wall."

The implication on what Minoru was planning was clear and he was actually ballsy enough to try it.

"Restrain yourself!" Tenya called out with his chopping arms. "You would be violating many moral barriers that no decent human being should ever cross! I will not condone such activity!"

"So naïve, child."

Minoru then began to rapidly climb up the wall using the balls from his head with a look of desire on his face.

"Mineta! Get back here!"

"U.A. students are meant to overcome barriers! That's what it means to go Plus Ultra!"

And just as he was about to succeed he was cut off by an appearance by the young boy from earlier.

However, in a strange twist of fate, as the boy was about to knock him back to the boy's side, he was interrupted by an appearance by the sandy blonde. Only her head, neck, and part of her shoulders was visible.

And her smile promised pain. Nothing but pain. Pain is all that exists right now.

"Hi, Mineta," Sherry said as she slowly moved her arm in front of the boy's face. "How are you dying?"

"Uh… isn't the question 'how are you do—'"

Minoru never got to finish his question, as he was blasted in the face by a Gust Shot. The little projectile was launched back into the bath, shooting up water all around the impact zone.

"Oh, what the hell do you do now, Mineta?!"

"C-calm down, Utakata! It wasn't his fault!"

"I would say this is karma, but then I would have to single out Teikiatsu for student brutality!"

"Where the fuck is the water?!"

It was then Kota moved his head back up after being forced down by Sherry.

"Hey, Kota," Sherry said as she righted herself from falling back down. "What are you doing up here?"

It was then she realized she was showing too much of her body to the young, impressionable boy. Her cleavage was in full view and Kota accidentally got an eyeful of her voluptuous girls. With a nosebleed, he fell back into the boy's side of the bath.

"Guys, heads up!" she said in urgency as her eyes widened.

Seeing the young boy falling from high up, Izuku was the first to react to the call. He used his Quirk to catch the child before he hit the ground.

"I got him!" Izuku shouted to the other side.

Sherry gave off a sigh of relief when she heard that. She made her way back down the barrier with a few bursts of her Quirk.

Meanwhile, the guys were steaming at the drop in the water level from when Minoru crashed into the bath. Everyone, especially the taller of the bunch, had to slouch in order to be completely submerged. Izuku went inside to lay Kota down, so he didn't really have words for the unconscious grape perv.

"He just had to get pervy with Teikiatsu around," Hajikeru said in anger. He was nearly lying down to fully cover himself with whatever was left in the bath. "Woke me up from my nap, too."

No one else said anything, but they shared similar thoughts with their resident bubble Quirk user.

 **AN: Okay, got this one out before I leave for a little bit... Yeah, I pretty much said what I wanted in the chapter itself. I really don't have much to say this time... Jeez, what time is it? Oh right... I'm finally making use of those notes I wrote months ago... Wait, I said that already... Ugh, forget it.**

 **-OmegaBox**


	21. The Summer Camp Arc Pt 2

**The following is a non-profit work of fiction based on a much greater work. My Hero Academia is owned by Funimation, Studio Bones, Viz Media, Shueisha, and Kohei Horikoshi. Please support the official release.**

 _Next Day_

 _Early Morning_

It was around 5:30 in the morning when Class 1-A was gathered around their homeroom teacher for their first day of training. They were all sporting their PE uniforms and most were tired from being woken up so early. The sun could barely be seen from behind the mountains for goodness sake!

Class 1-B showed up shortly after, with their class looking mostly worst for wear. The only students that didn't seem affected from their lack of sleep were those that typically woke up at such an early hour.

"Good morning, students," Shota started as Seikijiro joined him in front of the classes. "This is going to mark our first day of training camp. If you need a refresher as to what you're to accomplish during your time here, here it is."

"We're going to be training your Quirks as a form of reinforcement training," the Blood Hero said in tangent. "The main goal here is to strengthen everyone's Quirks, and later on obtain your Provisionary Licenses in the upcoming exam. Consider this camp as a preparation course for going up against active hostiles and aggressors in the coming times. You'll need to steel yourself for when the time comes."

"YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, VLAD KING-SENSEI!" Tetsutetsu shouted, startling everyone that was half asleep.

"Not in that way, Tetsutetsu," Itsuka said in a tired, irritated voice.

"Also, iron and steel are not the same thing," Denryoku said in his deadpanned voice. He didn't have the sound of grog when he spoke. "Just so you don't get confused."

"Hehe, kinda like how Kirishima and Tetsutetsu aren't the same thing," Hajikeru said in a slurred, drowsy tone. Mornings were not his favorite time of day and it shows why. The armored, hardheads of manliness didn't take that identical thing too well.

Denryoku let out a sigh before jabbing one of the studs on his finger onto the bubble teen's right arm, emitting a low voltage shock. It was enough to jolt Hajikeru fully awake out of pure surprise alone, yet not enough to do damage. His yelp and lack of a mark proved it.

"Thanks, pally," Hajikeru said to his best friend without a hint of fatigue.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

"Can he pass some of that electric stuff over here?" Tooru muttered as she propped herself up against Mina and Tsuyu, both of whom didn't look too good either.

"Bakugo, Shiozaki," the Erasure Hero called out. He threw them each a ball, similar in appearance to the ball they used during the Quirk Apprehension Test.

They both had their tests on the first day of the term, but were done at different times. While Shota skipped the orientation ceremony and went straight to the Apprehension Test, the Blood Hero's class went through student introductions and the curriculum for the semester. After that, they had their Quirk Apprehension Test and finished several hours after their sister class was let out.

"This is the same test from the beginning of the school year, sensei?" Ibara asked as she delicately held the ball with both hands. Meanwhile, Katsuki was casually tossing his with the same angry look.

"That's right. Vlad told me you scored 330.5 meters at the beginning of the school year. Bakugo, your score is 705.8 meters. Let's see how much you both improved."

"Not really much of a competition, is it?" Hanta asked as the two students prepared themselves. "Bakugo's score is already more than double than that other girl's, so what's the point of this?"

"The point of this is to see individual growth, not to see who can throw a ball the farthest. That much is already made clear," the Blood Hero responded with a gruff tone, causing Hanta to shut up.

Katsuki went first with his throw, setting off an explosion that rocked everyone within the vicinity. He also shouted 'Go to hell!', which didn't settle well with the devoted girl beside him.

As the dust was settling down and after she pushed down the urge to berate the violent blond for his choice of words, Ibara made her throw. She started with a high throw that didn't look like it had any horizontal movement, but then she moved her hands into a praying position. The vines that made up her hair dug into the earth behind her and reemerged in front of her. She then willed one of her vines to catch the ball and then throw it with a whiplash effect after a long wind up. It was quite mesmerizing for those that didn't know how her Quirk worked.

Izuku was taking notes in his notebook and muttering as he watched Ibara make her throw. Every student was wondering where he got his notebook from.

"709.6 meters."

"341.3 meters."

It came to be a surprise when the two received a lower than expected score.

"That… was not what I thought would happen," Eijiro said in a stunned tone.

"That's to be expected," Shota spoke as he gained the attention of the two classes. "Over the last term, you all have gained a fair amount of experience. But most of your growth was mostly emotional and technical. You've learned to steel your nerves and how to think tactically on some level. But now it's time to concentrate on the physical aspect. Your Quirks improved a small amount over the last three months. Now, we're going to speed up that process over the next week."

"Your Quirks behave the same way muscle fibers do," Seikijiro added. "Under intense and consistent use, they get torn down and repair themselves stronger than before. If you keep using your Quirks past their limits, they will become stronger. But that doesn't come without putting them through the wringer."

"Told you," muttered Denryoku. Hajikeru simply cursed under his breath at his big mouth.

The Erasure Hero's shit-eating grin made itself present when he spoke the next statement.

"We're going to be achieving Plus Ultra for the rest of the week. So try not to die on us in your journey through hell."

A collective gulp could be heard from the 44 students.

 _Many, Many Hellish Hours Later_

 _Forest Lodge_

True to the teacher's word, everyone's Quirks were pushed beyond their limits and their heavily fatigued and battered bodies were evidence of such training.

Hajikeru had been stationed in front of a large shallow ditch. He was told by the Erasure Hero to constantly use his Bubble En Masse, as this was the most costly move in his arsenal, until his throat was dry. Then he had wait for his body to naturally replenish his salivary glands before expending it again. If he got dehydrated, there were several gallons of water that he was only allowed to drink if he was dehydrated. He wasn't allowed to share and he wasn't allowed to have a break longer than it took to replenish his salivary glands. The moment his mouth and throat was satisfactorily moist, it was back to being a human bubble dispenser.

Doing nearly 12 hours of this training left him with a majorly sore throat and a case of muteness. Yesterday was a preview for the rest of the week, apparently.

Denryoku was paired up with Denki atop an earth spire due to their identical Quirk natures. Denki had to have his hands wrapped around some electrical cables as a seemingly endless amount of electricity was forced into his body via generator. This made his 'wheeeeey' sound more like painful screaming. He was given the same punishment, except he had his fingers magnetically strapped to the generators. And since his Quirk rendered him immobile when he absorbed past his limit, he was forced to constantly emit electricity back into the generator.

The electro teen repeated this process until training was done for the day, and he wasn't able to walk or move his arms without pain by the end of it.

Sherry was tasked with coating her limbs with her Quirk and keeping it up for as long as she can without cutting herself. It was more of a mental exercise than it was a physical one. Technically, her Quirk didn't need to be stronger than it is now, but she does need it to be safe for use at all levels of power before she considers a power increase. The Sports Festival proved why she needed to be below a certain threshold in order to safely use it. Constant use of Cyclone would give her a proper feel for controlling it at better degree.

By the end of the day, she had well over 70 cuts on her limbs. But the number of them lessened as time went on. Nothing a little antiseptic can't fix.

"Welcome back from a long day of training, kittens!" PixieBob exclaimed as she called over the tired students. "I know you all want nothing more than to rest, but that won't do if you want dinner!"

"If you want to eat, you're gonna have to make it yourselves!" said an overexcited Ragdoll. "It's curry time! Best you don't mess it up!"

Most of the students groaned out a mess of affirmations as the green haired PussyCat continued to make fun of them for being tired.

"Of course," Tenya said in a resolute tone. "In an emergency situation, Heroes would be required to prepare food for the hungry and provide moral boosts as a part of providing aid to those in need." He then addressed to both classes. "Everyone! Let's make the best curry we can!"

He received many groans as replies, but no one was backing out.

'Thank you, Iida,' Shota silently acknowledged.

When everyone was in working order and they got changed out of their PE uniforms, they all put themselves to work on making the best curry ever!... Or as best as 44 exhausted students can do.

Hajikeru, Rikido, Koji, and Kojiro were tasked with gathering firewood and tinder, since they have plenty of strength to spare. Their Quirks mainly focused on a body part that didn't require physical labor to strengthen. It was a good bonding experience for the giants of both classes, excluding Juurouta and Mezo since their limbs are sore.

The task of making a fire to cook the curry and rice was left open for anyone that can do the task.

"Hey, Todoroki!" Mina called out. "Lend us some of that fire, would ya!"

"Think you can do that, Bakugo?" Hanta asked the explosive blond.

"This is beneath me!" Katsuki said as he let loose an explosion. To his ire, all it did was blow the firewood into smaller bits and char it.

"Too much!" Fumikage said from the side.

"That won't do," Momo spoke in a lecturing tone. "If you keep relying on others to do your work for you, you won't be able to learn what you're capable of."

'That's rich coming from someone who can make almost anything,' Kyoka thought silently as she watched Momo sprout a lighter from her hand.

Denryoku stopped by Katsuki's station with a handful of tinder while Hajikeru approached them with an armful of wood. The larger boy unceremoniously dumped the wood into the fireplace and walked away without saying anything. Considering his mouth and throat were not properly hydrated yet, he still couldn't speak more than a few words at a time.

The electric-Quirk user then brought the hollowed-out studs on his index finger and thumb close to the end of the dried sticks and moss. Smoke began to emit from where the electricity touched briefly and after some light blows, a fire was started.

After placing the burning tinder in the pile of wood, Denryoku looked at Katsuki and deadpanned delivered a 'Your welcome' before walking away.

"What the hell was that about?!" Katsuki shouted. He didn't receive a response.

"Show off," Hanta muttered under his breath. He still didn't like the dark haired, electric Quirk user, even after they heard of his good intentions from Denki during the Sports Festival. If one had to guess, it could be because of his nonchalant attitude that he's reacting to.

Seeing as his fellow electric Quirk user accomplished that, Denki confidently thought he could do that. Putting a bunch of sticks in his hand, he let loose his Quirk around his hand. When he was done, he realized his palm and fingers were feeling a bit too hot for comfort. Now seeing the hot mess in his hand, he had to let go of the now burning sticks to keep from burning himself. The bunch was now nothing but burnt wood and embers.

"Crap," he said as he looked at his failed attempt.

"You need to make contact with a small surface area to ignite it," Denryoku said from behind him, effectively startling the blond.

"Dude, don't scare me like that!"

The outburst didn't even phase the dark haired teen as he continued speaking.

"Make sure you only get the ends so the rest of the tinder can serve as fuel for the fire. And be sure you don't get burned in the process."

At this point, Denki just had to acknowledge that he was getting help for the failed bravado attempt.

"Uh… Okay. Thanks, Emera."

He received a thumbs up in response.

 _Later_

Once the curry and rice was made, everyone finally got their first taste of real food, even if the quality was comparable to pet food.

"This food may be crap, but I'm too hungry to care about it!" Eijiro said as he shoveled his face with food.

"Chew your food before you start choking, man!" Hanta replied as he was doing the same thing.

"You should do the same thing, Haji," Denryoku told his best friend while they were at another table.

The other occupants consisted of Juzo, Tooru, Mezo, and Fumikage. The latter two weren't really part of the larger conversation, but that didn't mean they were excluded from it altogether.

The dark haired teen didn't get a coherent response from his pinked eyed friend at first, as he was busy stuffing his face with curry and rice. After swallowing the stupid amount of food in his mouth, the larger teen addressed his best friend.

"That training went on long enough for me to taste the soap in my mouth, Denryo," Hajikeru said in an irritated tone. "Don't tell me what I can't put in my mouth. I need to forget about it!"

"Wait, you tasted soap in your mouth?" Juzo asked from across the table. His training consisted of softening the hardened dirt as far from his person as he can, then quickly cancel it out. He repeated that action for 12 hours. "Is that what makes your bubbles? That shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"I'm not supposed to taste it, Honenuki. And because I used my Quirk for so long, my mouth probably forgot what my saliva tastes like."

"TMI, Utakata," Tooru said with a hint of disgust in her voice. "I'm eating here."

"Oh, c'mon, Hagakure. Don't be so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic! I'm just saying don't talk about that stuff when we're eating."

"Seriously, Utakata," Setsuna butted in as she was placing her food on the table to join them. "Don't be gross when there are ladies around."

"You want to be the kettle or the pot this time, Tokage?" Denryoku plainly asked, not even looking up from his food. She clearly took offense to this and was about to give her rebuttal, but she was interrupted by Juzo and his addition.

"You chew with your mouth open, you pick your ears when you think no one is looking, you have a habit of low blowing anyone to get the upper hand, you have a mouth almost as bad as Awase sometimes…"

"Alright, I get it!" Setsuna shouted with irritation and embarrassment clear in her voice.

The greenette received some giggles and chuckles in response to her outburst. For some reason, though, Hajikeru began to laugh even harder than before.

"Hey, it wasn't funny to begin with, Utakata."

Through his laughter, Hajikeru said, "No! I'm not laughing at that! Jiro just decked Sero!"

"Really?! Why?!" Tooru exclaimed as she stood from her seat to see the commotion. Sure enough, there was Hanta nursing a bruise on his cheek, Kyoka looked pissed for some reason, and Mina was comforting Momo for some other reason. Both Mezo and Fumikage gave off a quiet grunt in acknowledgement before returning to their dinner.

"The stupid one with tape compared the taller one's Quirk to poop," spoke up a tired voice from beside the table.

A bushy head of purple and tired eyes stumbled to the wooden table with a plate of curry and rice. Considering he had to go through physical hell today, Hitoshi was moving more sluggish than usual, which was a feat in of itself since he moved with little energy to begin with. The reactions from most of the table's occupants were mostly nonchalant, as half of the occupants were from his class and two others from Class 1-A simply didn't care for his presence.

Two other occupants, however, had mixed reactions from his presence. Tooru really didn't like the guy, simply because of his stunt that almost landed her in Recovery Girl's office. While she was in that hazy landscape, as a result of his Brainwashing, she could still hear and see everything around her. But because she was restricted to an observer in her own body, she couldn't resist or react of her own will. It made her feel trapped and she didn't like how Hitoshi used his Quirk against her. Granted, it was during a competition, but telling her to fall on her kneecap from a meter up onto concrete was unforgiveable jerkface worthy.

Hajikeru, on the other hand, had an overall positive view of Hitoshi, but still held some reservations about him. On one hand, he did threaten his entire class with his determination to get into the Hero Course. He didn't really think too much of it at the time, but that did serve as a wakeup call for those in both classes. Overall, it helped his class prepare for the incoming Sports Festival.

But what really grinded Hajikeru's gears about the Brainwashing Quirk user was how he broke Tooru's confidence in herself, if only temporarily before it was patched up by himself, Mina, and Mezo. Those involved with improving her Quirk with her 'Shine Bright' ability, as she now calls it, know it wasn't going to be an easy task to bring it out, much less at will. And there were times where she didn't know if it was going to be worth it by the time the Sports Festival came around.

Hajikeru knew that feeling all too well when he was growing up, so he sympathized with the girl. He, along with Ochako, Mina, and Tenya (oddly enough), was very much her endless source of encouragement whenever she needed it. Every idea and every word of advice was absolutely meaningless if the recipient doesn't have the will or motivation to use it.

And to think, she would have had no problem showing the world what she could do if Hitoshi didn't get into her head with how 'blessed' everyone in the Hero Course was for having 'incredible' Quirks.

But at the same time, he couldn't blame him for feeling that way. He had been placed in the General Ed. Course because his Quirk didn't have any practical use against robots and as a result, he felt unjustly excluded. Some would probably agree with the bias set against those with non-combat oriented Quirks.

So when he was given the opportunity to be in the Hero Course, he completely went for it. He was one of the only students outside of the Hero Course that actually posed a threat throughout the first two events, afterall. And his Quirk is quite deadly for various reasons.

"I'm assuming Sero mouthed off without thinking," Fumikage stated as he looked up from his food briefly. At the same time, Dark Shadow stole a bite of his master's curry before receding into his abdomen.

"That does sound like something he would do," Hajikeru said as his laughter died down.

"I'm going to see what's up with Momo," Tooru said as she left the table.

"So you have one of those too, huh?" Setsuna asked as she began chowing down with no manners. "Ours is Tsuburaba."

"How bad?" the pinked eyed teen asked as he ate.

"He told me my hips were great for birthing."

Hajikeru began coughing uncontrollably from the comment, as did the some of the other occupants at the table. Denryoku and Juzo didn't react since they were present when that happened, but the greenette caught the other three 1-A students and Hitoshi off guard.

"Yeah, he took one look at me in my rep-suit (reptile catsuit) and he was like 'Damn girl, you make any babies wit those hips'."

Add laughter to his choking fit and Hajikeru was very much in hell at this point of the night. Juzo joined in the laughfest too, while Mezo, Fumikage, and Hitoshi were doing a good job of hiding their laughter. The only one that was unfazed was Denryoku.

"He was the only one to go to Recovery Girl that day," he said nonchalantly, as if he were giving off pointless trivia.

Off at another table, Koosei let out a sneeze that startled his table mates, as well as a chill down his spine, as if remembering a memory. A memory full of flying fists and scary teeth.

 _Day 3 of Hell on Earth Training_

 _Afternoon_

The second day of Quirk Training took off much faster than yesterday, which meant the students began suffering earlier. This was especially true for those that failed the Practical Exam.

"Hey, remedials," Shota called out, jolting some of the tired students awake. "I don't see your muscles moving. Get to it."

His replies varied from tired groans, which earned a threatening glare, to complaints about their sleep deprivation or remedial lessons, which also earned a threatening glare, to self motivating shouts, which he did nothing about.

"Kirishima. You and Satou failed because you were not able to overcome what Cementoss put you through during your exam. You both rushed into the situation before thinking a plan through, completely depending on your Quirks to carry you through the test. As a result, you were overwhelmed when you reached your power's limits.

"Kaminari. What you did during your and Ashido's exam was within the parameters set beforehand, but you both failed in executing the plan in a timely manner. As Heroes, we're often given a time window in which an objective much be achieved. Anything more than that could result in unnecessary casualties.

"Apart from that, you all need to pull your weight more than your classmates. Think about why you're here in the first place and go from there before complaining how tired you are."

The flunkies let out the best they can let out at their homeroom teacher's speech.

"Don't try to lump me in with these flunkies, Aizawa-sensei," Neito muttered with fatigue clear on his smug face.

"Shut up, Monoma," Hitoshi said from his side. He already looked tired by default, so there was no way to tell if he was sleep deprived too. The only thing different that seemed off on the purple haired teen was the bandages around his knuckles.

"Get moving," the Erasure Hero snapped.

"Sensei's really letting them have it," Hajikeru lowly muttered as he spotted five of his classmates and friends move with heavy resistance from their bodies.

It was barely midday, four hours since they started training, and he was already through half of the water left to him for his Quirk Training. He had just downed what was left of one of the five-gallon containers and now he had to wait until his salivary glands were replenished. He wasn't coughing too much yet, but that usually began when he ran out. The real pain here was straining his throat and mouth to constantly dry out. It really didn't help the fact that he was restricted to 20 gallons a day. It may seem a lot to any normal person, but he burned through most of it with his saliva. Some of it goes to the rest of his body, but most of it goes to the glands in his mouth since that's the first thing that dehydrates.

Meanwhile, Denryoku was flexing out his fingers and stretching out the muscles in his limbs to relieve some stiffness. Since he was up on the rock by himself for the meantime, he wanted to take in the sights before getting back to torturing himself. He easily spotted his best friend by looking for a small ditch full of white bubbles, a signature of Hajikeru's Bubble En Masse.

"I was still right," he muttered. "He definitely ate his words yesterday."

He could still hear the wordless groaning from yesterday. It almost sounded like someone had gagged him with a toad that had a sore throat. Add to the fact he was acting as a translator when he couldn't speak at all and he was a hundred percent sure his bubble blowing friend was regretting saying that when he was bored.

 _Later that Night_

"Well, kittens!" PixieBob announced. "Our stomachs are full and the dishes are clean! And now, it's time for…"

"A TOTALLY AWESOME TEST OF COURAGE!" Mina shouted at the top of her lungs. Her fellow flunkies were also very excited to be participating in the exciting activity. However…

"Sorry, but the remedial bunch will be coming with me for a review lesson," Shota said in his typical deadpanned tone.

Immediately, Mina's face morphed into something that screamed 'You've got to be kidding me!'. Speaking of which:

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

And like that, the flunkies were dragged away by their homeroom teacher's capture cloth. They each let out as much resistance as they could, but it was completely pointless.

"Poor Mina," Tooru said in sadness in watching her best friend get dragged away. "She would have loved this."

"Maybe she could switch with Kyoka," Sherry offered as she had an arm around the shaking, rocker girl. She had on a bright yellow, V-neck shirt; equally bright red short-shorts; and a pair of high tops with a stylized 'C' on the sides. "I'm sure a bit more studying is better than getting spooked."

Even though Kyoka didn't say anything, she was really considering that proposition.

"So here's how the Test of Courage will go," PixieBob started with a map of the path the students will take. "Class 1-B will be first to scare everyone, while Class 1-A will be the ones getting scared. The scaredy cats will be going in pairs of two and they will leave to get themselves scared everything three minutes. At the middle of the route, there will be a little desk. On the desk is a card with your name on it. Bring it back to this spot as proof of your journey through the Haunted Forest of Frightened Kittens!"

'Did she change the name of the forest just for this?' collectively thought the students.

"The scaring group is not allowed to touch anyone directly, but other than that, go crazy with the scare tactics and Quirks!"

"You will be judged by the creativity of the scares and how many students piss their pants!" Tiger added. This caused some discomfort with the students, especially with the 'piss their pants' part.

"Revelry in the dark," Fumikage muttered.

'Why does he keep saying that?' Ochako thought with a bit of fright.

"C-can we not do this?" Hajikeru asked with a bit if nerves. At the moment, he was wearing a grey T-shirt with the word 'POP' in violet inside a cyan explosion graphic; knee-length, orange cargo shorts; and a pair of grey sneakers. "I'm not a fan of being scared."

"What's wrong, Utakata?" Minoru asked looking cheeky. "You scared of the dark?"

"No, but I am scared of what Denryo has planned for this. He is absolutely evil when it comes to scaring people."

Turning to look at Denryoku, they saw him with his eyes turned an electric green color on his nonchalant face.

"This'll be fun," he muttered with a barely noticeable amount of excitement in his voice. He was wearing a black, collared shirt with bright green accents at the ends of the sleeves; dark grey shorts that reached his knees; and a pair of grey sneakers.

"Alright, kitty-cats!" PixieBob shouted over the muttering students. She held out some strips of paper with her paw-like gloves over her head. "Class 1-B will go with Ragdoll to set up their scare spots and Class 1-A will draw lots to see who your partner will be!"

The lots went like this:

Pair 1: Mezo Shouji/Fumikage Tokoyami

Pair 2: Katsuki Bakugo/Shoto Todoroki

Pair 3: Kyoka Jiro/Sherry Teikiatsu

Pair 4: Yuga Aoyama/Momo Yaoyorozu

Pair 5: Ochako Uraraka/Tsuyu Asui

Pair 6: Hajikeru Utakata/Tooru Hagakure

Pair 7: Mashirao Ojiro/Minoru Mineta

Pair 8: Tenya Iida/Koji Koda

Pair 9: Izuku Midoriya/[Partner Unavailable]

"Yay! I'm not going to be scared alone!" Tooru gleefully shouted, ignoring the look of hopelessness on Izuku's face.

Even if Hajikeru wasn't looking forward to being spooked silly, he was glad he was paired up with someone he was good friends with. He couldn't handle the embarrassment if it were anyone outside of his usual circle of friends.

"Aoyama," Minoru groaned in despair as he reached out to Yuga and Momo. "Please let me be with her."

Yuga replied by rapidly shaking his head in denial while Momo looked disturbed.

Then the little grape boy looked at his second choice of partner swapping.

"Utakata, please switch with me!"

"You want me to be your partner?" Hajikeru asked in confusion. He already knew what the tiny boy implied, but decided to mess with him for a moment, however brief it was.

"No! I want her!"

"Not happening, you perv!" spoke up the invisible girl while using Hajikeru's large hand as protective helmet.

The pink-eyed teen was definitely not thinking about how soft her hair was under his fingers.

Nope. Not even a little bit.

He wasn't blushing from the contact either.

"Oi, Air-Head!" Katsuki shouted to the other blonde. "Switch with me!"

"And leave Kyoka to get scared all alone with only you to keep her safe?!" Sherry replied with fake shock, holding the smaller girl close with one of her arms. "I don't think so!"

"I don't want to be paired up with Icy-Hot! Now switch with me!"

"Sorry, no switching partners after the lots were drawn!" PixieBob called out.

"FUCK!"

 _15 Minutes Later_

"See? Nothing scary about this test! Totally not scary. I'm having so much fun right now! Those 1-B guys better try harder to scare me!"

Tooru said all of that as she was hanging onto Hajikeru's back and shaking from the first scare of the test. It was a simple jumpscare that Pony orchestrated by having one of her horns pass between them at high speed, creating a hollow, swooshing sound as it passed. It startled Hajikeru, for sure, but it wasn't enough to scare him. Tooru, on the other hand, screamed like something nibbled on her toes at the beach, high pitched and loud. She then hopped onto her partner's back for safety from the rest of the test. Of course, the bubble teen was embarrassed for his friend's spastic actions, but couldn't really form the words to tell her to get off. Again, who was he to deny a friend in need?

"You know you're going to be a target now that Class 1-B heard you screaming, right?" the bubble teen asked with a reddened face. He was 100 percent certain that his partner had no idea what she was doing to him. When she did the same thing a few days ago, he wasn't really giving it much thought since he was exhausted. Now, he was all too aware of what was happening, but he was trying to play it off as no big deal.

"That's why I have you! You'll be my shield to keep the spooks away!"

"If that's true, then that's a really soft shield."

"Hehe, you said it, not—"

What Tooru was about to say was interrupted by a loud crashing noise from beside the pathway. From within the trees, Hajikeru spotted something flash. Making a choice then and there, he quickly made an Orange-Type Pressure Bubble to be out of the way of whatever it was he saw. When he did that, a bright, shiny object darted out of the forest and into the space that the two students had just occupied before embedding into a tree. Instinctively, he held one of his hands out to cover Tooru as a form of protection.

Tooru had released her hold on her large friend when she saw what had happened just now. She barely saw that same object just out of the corner of her eye and her larger friend had acted so quickly that she didn't get a chance to point it out. She was thankful for his quick thinking now that she saw how deep that object was embedded into the tree trunk.

"Damn it," spoke a deeply masculine voice from within the trees. There was an audible thump that sounded like heavy footsteps coming from the voice's direction. "I was hoping that woulda at least put you out of your misery."

The owner of the intimidating voice made himself known as he stepped out from the dark shadows of the trees. He was huge, towering at nearly three meters tall with a compact, muscular build. He was wearing bright orange trousers with paw prints peppered throughout, stuffed inside a pair of military boots. Adorning his chest were multiple wounds, ranging from simple slashes to large, irregular wounds, healed over into scars. His ragged face suffered a similar look, but with part of his left ear missing and the left side of his mouth extending past his jaw line, giving him an unnaturally wide half-grin.

But what was most disconcerting about the man was what was around his arms.

Wrapped around both arms was what appeared to be multiple black leather straps, reaching from the upper part of his deltoids to the base of his hands. There were at least a dozen of them on each of his arms and they all hanged loose from each of the fasteners. It was tough to see in the limited moonlight, but the bottom side of the straps was incredibly rough with microscopic hooks.

"But it looks like it won't be an easy paycheck this time." His voice vibrated the air with intensity, nearly causing the two students to buckle out of fear. But they held fast, even as their minds tried to process what was happening to their school trip.

 **AN: Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays... Yeah, I wasn't expecting to upload this today, mostly because I thought I was going to finish this chapter a while ago. I had a crappy October, November was just bad for my writer's block so I edited some of the previous chapters. Not to mention I'm working on two stories at once, so the mindsets are different for each of them. But on the brightside/darkside, I've thought of a solution for this dower crap. I still haven't written it yet, but I've had this idea for a while. I'm just trying to figure out how to play it. Spoiler warning: People may want to watch their sugar intake when it gets published. Anyway, That's all from me! Until next time!**

 **This better not take another few months to get another chapter out. I'm finally getting to the good stuff and I can barely write about it!**

…

…

 **This thing is still on, isn't it?**

 **-OmegaBox**

 **Edit: Stupid website didn't register the chapter the first time and now I'm pissed. Oh, and it should be fixed now. If not, they have until New Years Eve to run.**


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